My Name Is Sydnee
by xXJenniChanXx
Summary: Sydnee had never been very good at making friends, so when her only real friend told her to try out this new club in town called 'The Sharing', she did. By the time she understood what a horrible mistake this was it was already too late... but becoming a controller would only be the beginning of Sydnee's story. -This is a story that focuses almost entirely on OCs.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Sydnee. You've never heard of me. No reason for you to, after all. It doesn't really bother me. I'm not an Animorph or anything. I've never even met any of them, though I might like to... someday...

They called it the Sharing, it was suppose to be kind of like the boy scouts. It had been just recently set up in the town I was living in at the time. People met up, they had barbeques, played sports, hung out, but also cleaned up beaches and charity stuff. They talked about things like family values and supporting the community and they targeted troubled people and offered them friendship in tough times.

I first went to the Sharing with my friend Randy, although I didn't really want to be there.

Randy had been my friend since I'd moved to this town. He was really my only friend... I was never good at getting along with other kids. Probably because me and my parents were always moving around, because of their jobs, we never stayed anywhere long. Randy and I spent most of our time hanging out in the woods by our neighborhood reading comics and pretending like we were cowboys hiding out from the law... stupid things like that. It was our place, we had a lot of fun... Until one day, he just changed.

You see, Randy had been going through a pretty tough time back then. His parents were in the middle of a divorce. It wasn't pretty. They would scream at each other and Randy would get caught in the middle of it. It wasn't because they were bad people, they just couldn't see what it was doing to their son. I tried to be there for him... but I guess it wasn't enough. I remember he got into a fight at school and he got into a lot of trouble. I learned afterward that the guidance councilor at our school was a member of the Sharing. I figure he's the one who convinced Randy to give the Sharing a try because it wasn't long after that Randy started to go to the meetings... and that's when he really changed.

He didn't want to go to our club house and hang out anymore. He didn't want to read comics or any of that 'kid stuff'. That's what he called it. I tried to understand... even as he began to avoid me. Eventually we stopped hanging out almost altogether. I felt terrible. I kept thinking that it was somehow my fault, that I had done something wrong and he hated me. I guess... I guess I kind of liked him.

That's when he invited me to go to these Sharing meetings, I just wanted to be friends again. I tried to like it, to relax, but I just kept getting more frustrated with him. I'd gone to a couple meetings, but it didn't help. He'd changed so much and I was sick of it. So I decided to leave the stupid meeting when he grabbed my arm.

"What's wrong?"

I remember ripping my arm away from him. "What's _wrong_? Are you kidding me!? Ever since you joined this stupid club it's like you were abducted by the _POD_ PEOPLE!" It was the worst possible thing I could have been saying at the worst possible place.

People turned to stare at me, including some of the senior members. I was making a scene. It was so stupid. I was really, really stupid.

I remember his face... at the time I didn't get it. His face twitched, like he was having a seizure, but it only lasted for a second. "You're not giving it a chance Syd! This is our chance to be a part of something bigger then ourselves."

"Like what?" I asked, glaring.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw a senior member. A few of them gathered around. "Maybe you'd like to see for yourself." He said.

Before I knew what was happening the senior members ushered me inside the center.

"Randy, what's going on?"

He just smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. I looked around and saw similar smirks on the other members. I tried to pull away, but they pushed me along. When they started to take me down a long staircase I started to struggle. I kicked and pulled but they were stronger then I was.

"Randy, Cut it out! This isn't funny!" I yelled, but he just kept smiling.

As we went further down I could hear something... something that got louder with every step.

Screams.

I was absolutely terrified. It just didn't make any sense, it was insane! This had to be some kind of terrible joke! But they didn't let up and the screams got louder every second. Suddenly we stood in a huge cavern, carved out under ground. It was gigantic, the cavern was probably almost as big as the town. And in the middle was a huge pool.

I was pushed forward, I could see people using strange tools to cut the rocks, opening the cavern wider. This place was brand new and they were expanding...

I saw people in cages. The people were crying and screaming. I had never seen anything like it in my entire life. I had never heard such pure terror. And there were monsters everywhere. Real, honest to god monsters. It was like something out of a nightmare.

There were two ramps leading to the pool and they dragged me to the edge of one of the ramps.

I was crying, begging, terrified. "Randy! Help me! PLEASE!" I screamed.

They forced me to my knees. The liquid below my head looked like molten lead... but I caught glimpses of something moving, just below the surface. Within moment they shoved my head under. The liquid was hot, but it wasn't enough to burn me like I thought. Now it seemed like I was going to drown... and then something touched my ear. I screamed as my head was pulled up from the liquid.

Something was crawling into my EAR! I shook and tried to pull away, to grab it and pull it out. I could feel it. My ear was numb as is it went in deeper and deeper.

Suddenly my body slacked and I was released. I tried to move my head to look around, I tried to stand to run... but I couldn't. I felt something strange... this tingling sensation in my head...

I blinked.

No, I didn't. I suddenly blinked, but I didn't do it. My body did it on it's own. Suddenly I stood up.

{Hello... ah, Sydnee.}

A voice, there was a voice in my HEAD. I tried to scream.

{There's no point in resisting. I control your body now.}

As if to demonstrate, my hand was raised on it's own and rubbed the tears from my face.

{What ARE you!?} I cried out in my head.

{I am known as Nisret 4199 and I am your master.}

That was how I was taken. That was how I was turned into a controller.

A controller is a slave in their own body. They are controlled by a slug-like alien that enters your ear and wraps itself around your brain, sinking into every crevice. It controls you, and all you can do is watch. The truth was Earth was being invaded by an alien race called the Yeerks. The rest of the world didn't even know it was happening...

But you probably know all about that.

Yeerks can look into your mind. They can see your memories, they can read your thoughts like a book, see how you act and mimic you perfectly.

I tried to fight it, I really did, but I couldn't. I couldn't break free. I threatened it, I pleaded with it... but it was all in vain. I was trapped. For months I was a prisoner. I watched other people like me that were dragged to the pool, begging and screaming and turned into slaves. I couldn't warn them, I couldn't do anything.

I remember walking home that day. My body moving on it's own. I couldn't move a single muscle. I didn't even choose when to breathe, the Yeerk did.

The Yeerk opened my memories, it used them to find out where I lived. I remember walking in and sitting on the couch. The Yeerk took in the surroundings.

It opened my mind again.

My earliest memories came flooding back, some went by in flashes, others the Yeerk seemed to linger on...

_I was on a swig, at the park, in a city far away from this small town. It was cold and wet from rain, but I didn't care. I was on the swing kicking as hard as I could trying to go higher and higher, then I launched myself into the air! Soaring for a few moments before landing on the wet earth._

"_Sydnee!"_

_My dad, he was angry, I was in trouble._

Then it was gone. The memories flooded back as vivid as the first time I'd experienced them.

_It was the first day of kindergarten. I squeezed my mothers hand and cried. I begged her to take me home, I begged her not to leave me. I didn't like this place, I didn't want to be here._

_My mother pulled her hand out of mine and left. The other kids were laughing at me._

It was so embarrassing. So humiliating! I didn't want it to see!

_was alone in our nearly empty house. I was thirteen, I didn't need a babysitter while my parents were working. In a week or so we'd be moving to a new house. _

_I opened one of my moving boxes to look through my comics and books. I'd read them all several times. I went to my dad's room and opened one of his boxes. I took a baseball and put the glove on my hand. Throwing it in the air and catching it a few times. I walked over to the window I watched the rain drip down the windowsill, waiting impatiently until the phone rang._

"_Hello?" I asked, hopefully._

"_Sydnee?"_

"_Hi dad, are you guys on your way home?"_

"_I'm sorry Sydnee, we'll be late tonight. Go ahead and eat without us."_

"_Oh."_

_He didn't notice the disappointed in my voice. "Don't stay up late." He said as he hung up the phone._

_He never noticed._

_I felt rage bubbling up inside me. I screamed and threw the baseball._

_After a second I ran to the window, the ball had shattered it. I stared out the hole in the window before running back to my room and hiding under the cover and cried._

{STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!} I tried to scream.

To my surprise, the memories did stop.

{Get out!} I screamed. {Get out of me!}

There was a laugh, me, I had laughed out loud. But it wasn't me. "Why would I do that?"

{You can't do this! You wont get away with this!}

"Really? And who's going to stop me?"

I heard something slam. The Yeerk turned my head to look out the window.

My dad! He was home early!

I felt myself smile. "Don't fool yourself." It said. "He won't save you."

It shocked me. It knew what I was thinking the second the thought had entered my mind.

{And I'll prove it to you.} It added mentally as my dad entered the house.

It reached for the remote for the TV, flipping to my favorite channel as my dad walked in.

"Hey dad." I said, halfheartedly, like I was bored.

"Hello Sydnee." My dad replied, the same tone I had.

I saw something in his hands. "What'cha get?" It asked.

My dad handed me a box. It was a small pizza. "I bought some dinner." He said.

It opened the box and made a face. "This has mushrooms on it." It said with disgust and disappointed.

My dad frowned for a moment, he'd forgotten. "Oh! Right, sorry I forgot you don't like them. You can just pick them off."

It shook my head. "No way, it'll still taste like mushrooms."

My dad rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with mushrooms anyway?"

It rolled my eyes in response. "It's a fungus dad, it's nasty."

My dad sighed. "Fine."

I watched him walk away.

{Dad!}

It was unbelievable. Hearing the conversation between the Yeerk and my dad was shocking, frightening. It combed through my brain, learned everything about me, and used it to mimic me perfectly. It had said and done everything I would have.

{What do you think?}

I was speechless. My mind raced, trying to think of something, anything I could do.

But there was nothing...

{Are you beginning to understand? Good.} The Yeerk whispered to me inside my head as it went to the kitchen. {Just give in, it's pointless to resist. You belong to me now.}


	2. Chapter 2

There was nothing I could do. The human race was under attack, and there was nothing I could do.

The human's weren't the only ones. The Yeerks had many different types of hosts. They'd traveled the universe searching and infesting few hosts. Infesting, enslaving. Including other aliens like Hork Bajir and Taxxons.

Taxxons are a lot like centipedes, except they're giants. They're about ten feet long and cannibalistic, with an insatiable hunger and blood lust. I heard they gave themselves to the Yeerks willingly so they could eat new meats...

Hork Bajir are usually about seven feet tall, they look almost like Raptors or something and their bodies are covered in blades.

Hork Bajir are scary looking, but the truth was that they were a peaceful race of tree herders. They were enslaved by the Yeerks and are used as weapons. I met a few in the holding cells... you see every three days a Yeerk has to recharge in these Yeerk pools. Willing hosts are allowed to lounge around and watch TV, unwilling hosts are put in cages.

Most of the others just keep to themselves and cry... but sometimes you find someone willing to talk to you. I'd met a few that way and tried to start up conversations with them. Hork Bajir are a kind race, but they aren't very smart, it didn't help that most of them had a limited understanding of English. I'd ask them about their home planet, but the most they could tell me was what they'd heard from older Hork Bajir... Most of these Hork Bajir had been born in captivity...

Born in captivity. The thought made me sick... was that what lie in store for the human race?

They told me about 'Mother Sky' and 'Father Deep', they told me about their trees that were bigger then anything we had on earth. I imagined them to be like sky scrapers. I tried to think about that world as I was dragged to the pier again. Like so many times before.

I didn't fight anymore. There was no point, there were too many, I couldn't escape...

I gave up right away, I knew my life was over. But part of me hoped and prayed that something, anything would happen to save us.

{It's hopeless.} The Yeerk said.

If I could have shuttered I would have. I didn't respond. I tried to think of somewhere far away...

Suddenly I could see it. It was a flash of another world...

_A different sky and trees that stretched up into the clouds, the grass was a blueish green. Below I could see a blue mist that seemed to never end. And I saw Hork Bajir... holding weapons and moving out for war, and I realized I was one too. I could feel something else; the mind of the Hork Bajir. It's confusion, it's fear under the control of something it's child-like mind could not comprehend._

This wasn't my memory, it was the Yeerks.

{We took the Hork Bajir, we took their planet. We'll take this one as well.}

I could feel myself being suppressed. The more I fought, the harder the Yeerk pushed back.

{Why are you doing this? Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?} I asked. I knew it was pitiful, but I was so desperate.

{You didn't do anything.} It replied simply. {We need hosts and your race is an easy target.}

{Please...} I begged. (Please let me go, please! I wont tell anybody, I promise! Just please let me go...}

{Pathetic... can you think of nothing better to do then grovel?}

I could see the cages holding the others, but found myself quickly looking away. The weird thing is, even though I had no control, it wasn't always a one-way street. Sometimes I could feel the Yeerks emotions... and for a second I could feel something, it was far off, but I knew I felt something...

Guilt?

{...Do you think this is okay?} I asked.

That seemed to catch it off-guard. {What?}

{You're kidnapping and enslaving innocent people who never did anything to you. Do you think that's okay?}

{Be quiet.} It ordered before crushing my consciousness under it's control...

Though I noticed, it hadn't denied it.

And that was just how it was.

But then, on a night that started like any other, I was home sitting at the table with my parents. It was one of those rare times where we all ate dinner together.

"So, you've been spending a lot of time at those meetings." My dad muttered, he was trying to show interest.

My mouth smiled on it's own. "I've been having a lot of fun, you guys should come with me some time."

{Leave them alone...}

My dad frowned. "I don't think you'd want us spending time with all your new... friends."

"The Sharing has more then just kids in it dad, it welcomes everybody."

"Well..." My mom started. "I'm glad you're spending time with other kids at least. Randy's a nice boy, but you should have more friends."

"The Sharing is actually looking for some adults to be chaperones and stuff, you guys should look into it. It could be fun..."

{Please, come on, just... just leave them alone!}

I could feel Nisret's contempt. {It's no use, if they don't join us now, they will be taken by force eventually. You all will, sooner or later.}

The doorbell rang, my body stood and left the table opening the door.

Randy stood there. The look on his face was grave.

"Hi Randy." The Yeerk said, playing the part.

"Hi." He muttered, something was wrong. "Can we hang out?"

The Yeerk turned my head. "Can I?" It asked.

My dad nodded. "Sure." It was going to be dark soon, any sane parent would have said no. But that's my parents for you. I was pretty bitter about it back then...

Nisret grabbed an over shirt and slipped on some shoes, then followed Randy down the street. There was some kind of emergency meeting at the woods. There was a huge group of hosts there. Not only humans, but Hork Bajir and Taxxons. I knew it had to be serious to bring them out and risk them being seen.

One human walked through the crowd and began to order the crowd. I'd only seen him a few times, but I knew he was their boss.

The human controller was probably in his fifties, his hair was pale blond except for the sides of his head, which were graying and almost white. He had a very thin, pale face. He looked almost like a ghost. "Human campers in the area reported seeing a strange animal in the forest. We believe it to be an Andalite."

A string of uneasiness broke out through the crowd, and I suddenly felt I surge of hatred from Nisret.

Weapons were passed out to a large number of the controllers, though not to us. We were too low a rank and their were not enough to go around. Groups of Taxxons, Hork Bajir, and humans spread out in all directions.

We were searching the woods for, what must have been hours. The sun was setting and soon it was dark. My body was cold and tired, and it was starting to rain. But I wasn't alone in the woods, a few Hork Bajir controllers were close by, but I was still scared. It was probably stupid, if anything should have been scared, it was whatever the Yeerks were searching for.

One of the Hork Bajir jumped up into the trees. I couldn't watch it, but I caught I glimpse of it. It was something else to watch it scaling the trees with ease.

The Hork Bajir leaped down from the tree in front of us. "I saw something!"

The others spread out in the area, and I felt a rush of uncertainty.

{Are you going to run?} I asked, a little more hopefully then I meant it.

{Be quiet!} It snapped, it didn't know what to do.

Suddenly I heard a guttural cry. The Yeerk didn't want to go, but ran to where the Hork Bajir had gone.

That's when I saw it.

An alien, a NEW alien. It was fighting with the Hork Bajir controllers.

The first thing I saw was a body like a deer or horse... but then I saw a human-like torso. Then the tail. It had a long tail that, on the end of it, was a thin blade.

"Andalite!" My mouth uttered.

The Andalite swung it's tail and cut through a Hork Bajir's arm. It was so quick, my eyes couldn't keep up. My eyes trailed over it's body, then to it's head. I could see two antennae on it's head, one of them was hanging low, maybe it had gotten slashed? He looked like the Hork Bajir had gotten more then a few hits on him.

On the ground I saw a weapon dropped by the Hork Bajir.

I felt a swell of confidence, the Yeerk had formed some kind of plan...

The Yeerk lunged forward to grab the Dracon Beam. But just before we reached it I saw a blue blur rush passed as the alien swung it's tail.

I looked down. I could see a red stain spread across my shirt.

The alien had not meant to hit me, it was whipping it's tail to hit another controller... if it had meant to hit me I would have been dead immediately. I fell back, the pain was like nothing I'd ever felt. There was so much blood, how badly was I hurt?

Was I going to die?


	3. Chapter 3

I was on the ground and I couldn't move. My trembling hands pressed onto my bleeding stomach. The pain was unbelievable. The worse pain I'd ever had back then was when I'd almost broken my ankle when I was seven. Whenever the Yeerk lifted my hands I could see blood that looked black in the dim moonlight. I was sure that I was going to bleed out and die.

I thought of my parents. What would happen to them? Would they know what happened to me?

My parents and I had never been very close. They were always working, always busy. Whenever they tried to talk to me I always pushed them away. I was angry at them but that didn't matter to me then. I wished I could run home to them. I wished I could hug them and tell them that I loved them. I wished I could tell them I was sorry.

I was going to die. I was going to die!

"No!" I sobbed...

Suddenly I realized... I had said that.

_I_ had said that!

I opened my eyes, I blinked, I lifted my head, I touched my stomach.

I laughed giddily. I was free! I could move and speak. At first I didn't understand but that's when I spotted it; a small creature crawling away through the muddy forest floor. It was Nisret! The Yeerk thought I was done for so it decided to save itself.

I heard footsteps. I saw the alien taking a step forward, towards me. It had killed the last Hork Bajir. I pointed toward the Yeerk. "Th-there!" I choked out. "It's getting away!"

One of it's antenna turned toward the direction I pointed, it must have seen something because it took off in that direction.

I pushed myself off the ground. I was still bleeding, I was still in pain, but I pushed through it. And I ran. Through some string of luck or a fluke, I was free. But I was not safe. I ran and ran. I had to get home. I'd find my parents and we'd run away. Away from aliens, away from the Yeerks.

I couldn't be taken again. I wouldn't be taken again. I would rather die then be taken again.

Run. Run! RUN!

I heard something coming up behind me, before I had a chance to panic the alien was already in front of me, cutting off my escape. It's tail blade was suddenly pressed against my throat.

{Do not run.}

Another voice in my head but it was different then the Yeerks. It was the aliens voice.

{Do not run.} He repeated. {If you run, I will kill you.}

I was shaking and in pain, I was light headed. "O-okay! Okay I wont run! Please don't kill me! I'm just a kid!" I started to cry. "Please don't kill me!" I begged.

It stared at me for a moment, like it wasn't sure what to do with me. Then the alien pointed with one of it's hands. {Move, quickly.}

The alien pushed me along. I don't remember most of the walk, I remember the rain intensified as we went deeper and deeper into the woods. Soon the woods opened up to a field and the alien stepped forward but it's tail still stayed close. It reached forward and a door opened. I couldn't see any sort of building, but their was a door in the middle of the field.

{Get in.} He ordered.

I didn't want to, but what choice did I have?

Once we were inside, I collapsed. The door closed and the alien walked passed me to a series of panels. There was enough light inside that I could finally look at my stomach. Pulling back the soaked and stained undershirt I could see the cut. Looking at it made me want to puke. It wasn't bleeding as badly as I thought... the cut didn't seem to be too deep... didn't seem to be... But I was weak and trembling and cold. Looking up I saw an image on the screen I was controllers.

I wanted to scream, there were several controllers in the field outside.

They were coming. They were coming to get me. They were going to get me!

{The ship has been hidden, these forces do not have the means to track this ship. They will not find us.} The alien said, his 'voice' sounded distracted.

My eyes fluttered I could feel myself fading.

Don't fall asleep. Please, don't... fall asleep. Please... don't...

Pain. I woke up to a dull, constant pain. I opened my eyes, I was still in the... room. For a moment I couldn't remember where I was.

{I tended to your wound. However, I'm unfamiliar with your species anatomy...}

This was my first real look at the alien. Like last night I could see it's body was like a horses, but connected to it was a human-like torso. It was almost like a Centaur out of Greek Mythology... except it was blue. In this new light I could see more details, like the fact that it's hands had more then five fingers on each hand, that it had no mouth, or the fact that the two things on it's head that I thought were antenna had eyes on the end of it.

It's antenna-eyes were scanning around the room while it's main eyes were focused on me.

"I... uh..." I sputtered.

{You are a controller.} He said, a hint of malice in his 'voice'.

"I... I was a controller, but... but it ran away."

He eyed me suspiciously. {Perhaps.}

I saw it's tail twitch. If I made one wrong move, I was dead.

{In any event I will know for sure in one more day.}

I paused for a moment. "Wait, what? H-how long have I been here?"

{This is the second day.} His eyes scanned me, gauging my reaction.

"I've been here for almost two days?!" I understood immediately. Every three days a Yeerk needed to feed or it died. To be sure, he was going to keep me here for three days. But I started to panic. "No, I can't stay!" I tried to stand, despite the pain in my stomach, but within seconds the alien's tail-blade was at my throat.

{As I thought.}

I was terrified, but I tried to speak. "You don't understand! I have to get to my parents! If the Yeerks get them I- I-"

{That is not possible.}

I screamed. "You can't keep me here!"

{I can. I shall.}

"Why! What do you want?"

{You are, or perhaps were, a controller. Once I am sure you are not being controlled, you will tell me everything you know about the Yeerks and their operations in this area.}

It made sense, but I could only think of my parents. "Listen, please, if my parents make a scene, if they start asking questions the Yeerks might take them! I- I can't let them be taken! I can't!" My voice broke.

His features seemed to soften, somewhat. His tail-blade eased away from my throat, but still kept it close enough to keep me from trying to bolt. {That may be, but I still cannot allow you to leave.}

I knew I couldn't talk my way out of this. I was a prisoner. Again.


	4. Chapter 4

The alien seemed restless, I got the feeling it didn't like playing 'babysitter' then I did.

I sat in the corner of the room, my knees to my chest. I glanced over at him. He seemed to be ignoring me at the console except on of it's antenna eyes was focused on me. Overall, he wasn't too concerned about me. If he needed to, he could kill me in a single swipe of his tail.

I was small, unarmed, and weak.

"So... what's your name?" I asked.

He paused for a moment. {It is not necessary for you to know.}

I looked down, then added, hopefully. "My name is Sydnee."

His antenna-eye that was watching me lowered very slightly. It seemed that most it's emotions these aliens expressed with their eyes.

He didn't trust me. I didn't blame him. After all, I didn't trust him either. Despite that, despite the fact that I didn't trust him, that he was holding me prisoner, I was desperate to talk to somebody. Anybody. For months the only people I had been able to talk to were a few Hork Bajir- Who were nice, but admittedly not great conversationalists- and a few other traumatized people. Who were rarely in the mood to speak.

The rest of the time...

"What kind of alien are you?" I asked. I'd heard the name a few times before, I wasn't sure what it was, but I was mostly just trying to make small talk.

{...I am an Andalite.} He paused for a moment, before relenting. {My name is Floran-Jakhal-Castouss.}

"That's a mouthful." I said with a little laugh.

{You may call me Floran.}

I smiled as best I could. "Thank you."

The hours crawled by and all I could think about was my parents. What would they do if I never came home? Would someone contact them that I had disappeared? Or would they just pretend they had no idea what happened to me.

My stomach growled. I was starving, but was trying to ignore it.

The Yeerks would have found the dead Hork Bajir controllers and disposed of the bodies, so humans wouldn't find them and get suspicious. Would they realize that a human controller was missing?

I tried not to think about it, but the scene kept playing over and over in my head. My parents, like so many others, kicking and screaming as they were dragged to the hidden Yeerk pool. Their heads forced down like mine was, I could see their faces twist in horror as they felt the Yeerk enter their ear, squirm it's way to their brains...

I couldn't wait another day. I HAD to escape...

My stomach growled again, I could feel my face going red, hoping he didn't notice. He had.

He turned his head to face me, his main eyes focused on me now.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, though I wasn't sure why.

He remained silent for a moment, then moved away. He came back with some type of long rope.

{I am going to restrain you.} He announced. I felt a surge of fear, he must have realized because he added. {I will go and find you food, I cannot allow you to move freely while I am gone.} He explained.

My legs were tied up beneath me, and my arms were tied behind my back. When he was satisfied, he left. The thing was, while tying me up, he'd seemed to have a hard time with it. What I didn't know then, was that Andalites had very little upper body strength and their hands especially are very delicate.

The ropes were tight, but after a while of struggling I was able to free my hands.

The only problem now was the fact that I had no idea how to get out of the ship. I began to search the ship for some way out.

There had to be some kind of exit. Had to be!

There was some kind of panel by the door. I started pressing it, pushing at the door.

"Come on!" I whispered. "Please, Please!"

Open! Open! OPEN!

Suddenly, it did. Very slowly the circular door slid away.

Before the door had opened all the way, I was already out.

I ran. I didn't think about which direction, I just RAN and wouldn't stop running. Even as I gasped for breath and my legs kept slipping and sliding in the roots and mud of the forest floor, even as my heart felt like it would burst from my chest I couldn't stop.

I kept getting caught in the trees and roots. My over shirt got caught in a twisted brush of vines and tree limbs. I ripped off the flannel shirt and kept running.

After a while of frantic struggling, I stumbled onto a road. It took me a while to get my bearings and ran back into town.

Soon I found myself on my street. I stumbled down the sidewalk, trying not to fall face first onto the concrete. I could see my house! It was barely a few yards away!

That's when I saw the front door open. I was about to call out... when I recognized the man stepping out from the house.

It was the Human Controller from the other night! Their leader. He was followed by a few other people, including Randy.

I stopped dead. My legs went weak and I almost collapsed.

Controllers. Controllers in my house.

The were coming this way! Should I run? No! That would just attract their attention, I had to hide or-

Something grabbed me. I was pulled down into the bushes. I tried to scream, but I hand was over my mouth.

{Be quiet!}

I opened my eyes and looked up, expecting to see Floran, but I didn't.

Instead of an Andalite, I found myself looking at my own face.


	5. Chapter 5

For a moment, I was awestruck. It was me.

The same hair, the same eyes, same nose, same mouth.

It was a perfect duplicate of me.

I/She/He was looked out from the bushes. He was looking at the group of controllers.

{Who are they?} He asked.

"Controllers." I whispered. "The tall guy, with the white hair, that's their boss."

{A Vissor!}

I wasn't sure. I'd heard that word before, I had rarely spent time with higher ranking controllers and it was hard to keep up with words and phrases you didn't understand.

I turned to look at the controllers. I saw Randy walk down the sidewalk, towards his house, while the rest of them piled into a black car. The leader paused for a moment before getting into the car, glancing around for a moment, then stepping into the car and they drove away.

{Follow me.} He ordered.

I felt my heart sink and I gave one, last, longing look at my house... then followed. I followed him back, back towards the woods. As we walked my eyes blurred with tears.

{That was foolish.} He said, annoyed.

That struck me, and instantly I felt myself snap.

"RAAAAH!"

I tackled him and hit him. I punched him as hard as I could. "It's your fault! It's YOUR fault! I could have saved them! I COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! They're gone! They're gone and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

I started to shake. My body trembled and I couldn't gather the strength to hit him again, and I cried. He was silent and just stared at me while I sobbed.

I wasn't sure how long it lasted, but soon I just couldn't cry anymore and looked up at him.

"What do I do now?" I asked between erratic breathes. "I can't go home, they know my face. I can't go anywhere. There's nothing I can do."

He stared at me for a while. "We have a common enemy." He said finally. "You can tell me what you know about the Yeerks and their operations as well as help me understand this planet's culture... if you do that..." He paused, eyes shifting erratically. He seemed nervous. "I will give you a way to defend yourself."

I stared at him. "Defend myself? ...could it help my parents?" I asked hopefully.

"That, I cannot say. But it will greatly increase your chances."

He still looked like me, but was barefoot and wearing my flannel shirt that I'd ditched back in the woods, it went almost down to his/my knees.

I sniffed. "How... how are you like that?"

He stood. {It's a new type of Andalite technology.}

I blinked. "How can you still talk in my head?"

He took a breath then opened his/her mouth. "I can still use thought speak while in morph." It was strange to hear my own voice.

"Can... can you change back?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I will have to demorph soon. Though I will wait until we are safe in the woods."

I laughed bitterly. "The woods are safe?"

"Safer then it is here."

After we were fairly deep into the woods, he stopped.

"This may be disturbing to you."

I nodded. "O.. okay..."

That's when he started to change. He began to grow taller, as he did his skin began to turn blue and sprout fur. The face that was the same as mine began to change, the shape of the eyes changed, the mouth disappeared, and the nose flattened and changed shape. Two growths emerged from his skull and eyes sprouted on the ends.

At the same time this happened his legs had become thinner, stronger, the feet turned to hooves and as he rose the rest of his horse-like body formed.

He was right, it was disturbing.

"You can turn into anyone?"

{No. I can only change into other species that I have acquired DNA from.}

That made me cringe. "You... acquired my DNA?"

{It only takes a touch to acquire DNA.}

I frowned, still a little freaked out. "Why did you need my DNA in the first place?"

{To blend in. With your DNA I will be less noticeable by humans. At the very least, until I can perform a Frolis Maneuver.}

"A what?"

{I will explain more later.} He snapped, annoyed. {We shouldn't stay here.}

He took off, I assumed, toward his ship. And I followed...

We stepped inside and he closed the door.

"So... how can I defend myself?" I asked.

{Not yet.}

"What? Why not!"

He turned, all eyes focused on me. {I will wait one more day before sharing it with you.}

I frowned. "You still think I'm a controller."

{It's unlikely. However... I have to be sure. This isn't a decision I can make lightly.}

"Why? ...Is it dangerous...?"

{Sharing this technology with you is considered a crime by my people. Punishable by exile or death.}

I felt the uneasy feeling in my gut intensify, what was I getting myself into?

"O-okay..."


	6. Chapter 6

It was early in the morning. The sun had just about to rise but it was still dark. It had been almost two days since I'd tried run home. I think we were stalling.

But today was the day. I sat outside the ship, listening to the sounds of the woods when Floran stepped out from the ship. In his hands he had a small, blue box.

"Is that it?" I asked.

{Yes. This is called the Escafil device. It will allow you to change, like I do.}

"Really? Is that standard issue for Andalites?"

His eyes seemed to dart away, avoiding me. {No... only Princes are allowed to keep them.}

"So, you're a Prince?"

{No. I am only a warrior.} He was quick to change the subject. {Touch the device.}

Part of me didn't want to. I was scared, I'm not ashamed to admit it. But I couldn't back away.

I touched the box. After a second my hand began to tingle, it was like a charge spread out from the box, through my hand.

{It's done.}

I took a deep breath. No big deal. I didn't feel any different. "So... now what?"

{We should find some animals.}

I laughed. "Well, we're in the right place. The woods are full of animals, we just have to catch some."

{That will not be a problem.} He handed me a weapon, it looked a lot like the ones the Yeerks used.

"It looks like a Dracon Beam." I muttered.

{Dracon Beams were created by the Yeerks by altering this weapon. This is a shredder. It's on it's lowest setting. Any animal you shoot with it will be momentarily stunned.}

"Long enough for me to get close and... 'acquire' it?"

{Yes.}

I gripped the Shredder in my hands. "Well, let's get to it."

{Before that... there are some things you should know.}

"Uh, okay."

{When you morph into another species, you will experience the animals natural instincts. It may be overwhelming.}

I nodded. "Okay."

{Also, you should know that there is a time limit. If you have not morphed back into a human in two of your earth hours, you will be trapped in that shape. Forever.}

Part of me couldn't believe we were talking like this. Like I was ACTUALLY going to become an animal.

"I understand."

Let it be said that I am NOT a hunter. I'd never even seen a real gun before, Dracon Beams not withstanding, and I was a lousy shot. Luckily, Floran was better then I was, and he managed to shoot a fox darting away with a dead mouse in it's mouth.

I ran over to it. The fox wasn't red, it's fur was mostly gray and black. It was stunned but it's chest heaved in fear. "W-what now?" I asked.

{Touch it. Focus on the animal.}

I gingerly touched the fox and stroked it's fur. I thought about the fox, I focused on it. As I did it began to breathe more easily, like it was falling asleep.

As soon as I pulled my hand away, the fox jerked up and ran away into the brush.

{Now think of becoming the animal.}

I swallowed and took a few deep breaths, then began to imagine the fox in my mind. I imagined becoming the fox.

The changes came slowly at first. At first I had no idea if it was happening at all, then I opened my eyes. I was getting smaller. Fur had sprouted on my hands and arms and my fingers had devolved into nubs.

"Oh god!" I gasped. No, no! I didn't want to do this!

{Focus!} He ordered.

I closed my eyes again and focused on the image of the fox. I could hear and feel the bones inside my body crunching, shrinking, and shifting. It didn't hurt, but I could still FEEL it.

And then it was done.

I opened my eyes. I pulled myself out of my clothes that lay in a crumpled pile on the forest floor.

The world was so different, everything was bigger, stranger.

Suddenly, I smelt something. I could smell my own scent. I could smell everything! Bugs, trees, other animals... then I smelt blood, food.

My eyes scanned the area and I spotted a mouse, my mouse. I ran to it and gripped it in my mouth.

{Sydnee.}

I could see Floran, but my mind couldn't make sense of him. It was a new predator, a threat.

I took off in the opposite direction.

{Stop!}

I ran to a tree and leapt onto the trunk, my claws digging into the bark. I kicked up, scaling the tree and climbing out on a branch. I dropped the mouse to my paws and began to tear out chunks of meat from the fresh kill.

{Sydnee! You're experiencing the animals instincts, you have to take control!}

In a snap, my mind was back on the surface. The foxes mind receded, but it was still there. I unintentionally swallowed a chunk of raw meat.

{AAAH!} I screamed, I felt sick. I wanted to puke, but the fox was confused. It didn't understand my panic or fear. It was safe in the tree with it's kill.

{Relax.} Floran called up to me. {You're fine, try to climb down.}

I glanced down the ground several feet below me. {I- I don't know how!}

{The fox got you up there, let it get you down.}

I scanned the tree, the branch, then looked down to Floran. {I thought I wasn't suppose to let it take over!}

{Sometimes it's best to allow the creatures natural instincts to guide you. You must never completely loose control, you have to find a balance in between.}

I crawled back to the trunk of the tree, I had no idea what to do. But the fox knew.

It planted it's hind legs while it's front claws dug into the bark. Then, with planned steps I quickly, but methodically ran back down the tree, landing on my feet.

{That went better then I expected.} Floran mused, seemingly please.

{No, forget this, I'm done!}

I focused on me, the human, and my body began to shift. A few minutes later I was myself again.

Naked. In the middle of the woods. I ran back to where my clothes had fallen off when I'd morphed and started pulling them back on.

"This is NOT okay." I yelled, completely terrified and humiliated.

{Morphing is unpleasant to experience the first time, but it is fascinating to behold. It's one of our races greatest scientific achievements.} He sounded proud. At least HE was enjoying this.

"Yeah, sure." I still felt sick from eating the mouse, and changing back into my dirty clothes made me feel gross. "I need to go into town." I said.

{I don't think that's wise.}

"I need some clothes, I need to get some food. If I'm going to live out here, I'll need supplies."

{...If it is necessary, we can come up with a plan of action.}

I nodded. "Yeah, it's necessary."


	7. Chapter 7

There's a lady who lives in my neighborhood, she's a few shades away from being a crazy cat lady. She has five cats that she lets run around the neighborhood. None of them are fixed as far as I know so she's always got some kittens to sell or give away. My parents wouldn't let me keep one, but every once in a while I'd leave out some tuna for them and I could pet them.

"Here kitty kitty kitty." I whispered.

I Siamese cat came over to me, expecting a treat. It rubbed against my legs and I petted it, acquiring it's DNA.

{This is dangerous.} Floran said, he'd caught a hawk in the woods before he'd met me and was perched up high above me in a tree.

"I won't be too long. Besides... even if my parents are.. controllers..." Just saying it made me feel sick. "They'll need to keep up appearances, right? They'd be at work."

{It's possible that controllers are scouting your house in case you return.} He pointed out.

"Which is why I'll go in as a cat. My house has a cat door from the previous owners, we never got around to getting it fixed, so I'll be able to sneak in no problem. And you can keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

He still didn't like it but I didn't care. I would do it with or without his help.

I shooed the cat away, then focused on the image of it in my mind. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of morphing again... but I pushed it aside. I needed to do this.

My body shrank, my bones shifted and cracked and soon I was the cat.

The cat was very similar to the fox. But while the fox was focused on finding food, avoiding larger predators, and survival, the cat was more curious, playful even.

Once again, all my senses were heightened. My eyes could see in sharper focus and my sense of smell was beyond anything I'd ever experienced as a human.

Suddenly I heard a sound. Flapping, I could see a bird in a low branch in the tree. I arched my back.

I wanted to pounce! Catch it! Hold it in my claws and-

NO.

I was ready for it this time, the animal's instincts.

{I... Okay! Okay, I got it! Everything's under control!}

Floran's eyes focused on me. {Don't take too long. Don't take unnecessary risks. I still have an hour and thirty minutes in this morph, you need to be back here before then.}

{Thirty, forty minutes tops!} I confirmed, then took off towards my house. I tried to look casual, like any other cat strolling through the neighborhood.

On the way I came close to a telephone pole. I felt the urge to scratch it! Just for a second, I started kneading the wood. It was strange, it was almost like scratching an itch, and very satisfying.

That's when I noticed a poster on the pole, and the face on the poster.

It was my face.

It was a missing poster.

It had a fairly recent picture of my face, a detailed description me. Hair, eyes, height. There was even a reward!

_Sydnee was last seen walking home from school when she disappeared. If you have any information about her whereabouts please call..._

I didn't recognize the number, it wasn't my home number...

{Sydnee! Hurry!}

I snapped out of my daze. {Right, sorry!} I headed down the sidewalk with a quicker pace.

It didn't mean anything. My parents could have done it themselves...

Soon, I was at my house. The cars were gone, nobody was home.

I slipped in through the cat flap and into the house. It was just how I'd left it. Like nothing had happened.

Why should something have happened?

Before I demorphed I took a minutes to search the house. I was alone.

{Flo, are we clear?} I called out to him in thought-speak.

{There are no obvious signs of controllers... though there are two men sitting in a vehicle not far away from the house.}

I demorphed and checked the time. 11:30. My parents wouldn't be home for hours.

I wanted to take a shower, but I knew I couldn't spend too much time here. I went to my room. All the same. Nothing had moved since I'd been here last.

I grabbed some jeans, a t-shirt, shoes, and a hoodie to hide my face. Then I found my backpack filling it with some clothes and a few other essentials.

I went to my dad's study and turned on his computer and found a map of my town, printing out a few different copies. I'd told Floran about several entrances to the Yeerk pool, but it would be better to show him exactly where they were.

In a dresser, by the front door, was some money my parents leave me. It's only suppose to be for food and other emergencies. This seemed like it qualified. They were never really here so...

I shook it off. I didn't need to think about it now.

Before I left I paused by my room and walked over to my bed. I fell on it. My warm, soft bed. I felt sick. I never wanted to get up. I never wanted to leave. I wanted to sleep and sleep until all of this nightmare went away.

{Someone is coming! Get out of there!}

I couldn't respond, I couldn't use thought-speak when not in morph.

I forced myself off the bed and headed for the backdoor. I should be able to sneak out through the back and climb over the fence.

I ran to the back and just as I opened the back door, the front door opened.

"Sydnee!"

I turned and froze like a deer in the headlights. My dad!

He smiled and started walking toward me... slowly, carefully. "Where have you been Sydnee? We were so worried about you!" Not right. My dad wouldn't be so happy. He would be furious first. He'd think I'd just run off again to make them worry. "You're mother will be here soon, she'll be so happy to see you're-"

I took off. I ran out into the back yard.

"COME BACK!" I heard him scream. Not like Dad.

I jumped onto the fence about to pull myself over when I felt a strong hand grab my backpack pulling me off the fence and onto the ground. I hit hard, my dad grabbed my collar pulling me up. He started dragging me back towards the house. I saw his face, it was twisted in an expression I'd never seen on my dad before.

"No! Let go! Let go of me!" I screamed.

"TSSEEER!" I heard the cry before I saw him. I blur of feathers rushed down. Floran! He racked my dad's face with his talons. His grip slipped and I ran away, I jumped the fence and kept running.

"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY!" I heard my dad scream. "WE WILL FIND YOU! WE'LL FIND YOU!"

I ran across the street and jumped another fence and kept running. My heart breaking with every step.

There was no denying it now. If they had my dad, they had my mom too.

My parents were controllers.


	8. Chapter 8

It was getting late. And I was exhausted.

I'd spent all day practicing morphing. I'd asked Floran in it was possible to morph with clothes. He said he couldn't be sure because Andalites don't wear them, but it might be possible.

After several tests, I finally found something that could morph with me. A bathing suit. It wasn't anything special, just a navy blue one piece, but it was better then going naked.

I walked back to the ship, Floran was outside grazing. Fun fact, Andalites eat with their hooves. Because they don't have mouths.

He spent as much time as he could outside, apparently Andalites don't like confined spaces.

I sat down and looked up at the sky.

I used to do it all the time, but now it meant something so completely different... I didn't have to wonder about other planets and aliens. Now I knew.

I looked over at Floran, he wasn't very big on conversation. Except when it came to things like morphing and Yeerks we barely spoke.

"I used to dream about meeting aliens." I said out loud.

His stalk-eyes (that's when he calls them) swayed to look at me. {Really?} He actually seemed interested by that.

I laughed a little. "Yeah. I used to wish that I could meet an alien and go into space and have amazing adventures. See things no human has ever seen..."

{I'm surprised humans would show such interest in the existence of species of other planets.}

I grinned. "Oh yeah, we love our aliens." I gave him the Vulcan Salute. "Live long and prosper."

He stared at me like I was crazy. It didn't surprise me, though I admit I was a little disappointed.

"Have Andalites been to Earth before?" I asked.

{Yes. We originally discovered many years ago and documented the life growing on it. However, when we realized the Yeerks were showing an interest in this species we sent ships down to scout the planet.}

"Is that what you're doing here?" I asked.

{...No.}

He didn't like talking about himself. He got shifty and defensive. It only made me wonder what he was trying to hide.

"...So... what's your planet like? Anything like this one?"

{Somewhat. There is more room for grazing, the grass is different here.}

"How?"

{Your grass is only green, while ours is green, blue, and red. Our sky is also different, ours is red and gold. Your trees are also very different from ours.}

I tried to picture it in my mind. Huge fields of weird rainbow grass under a red and golden sky. I imagined Floran running across the open space. "It sounds nice, I wish I could see it..."

{Maybe you will. Perhaps one day humans and Andalites may open communications...}

If the Yeerks don't enslave or kill us all you mean.

No. I pushed that thought away. I couldn't think about it, if I did I would break. I can't think about it.

"Hey... Floran?"

{Yes?}

"If only Princes are allowed to have Blue boxes... Escafil Devices, why do YOU have one?"

That caught him off guard, his eyes shifted. He was trying to come up with an answer.

"You... You stole it?"

His tail whipped his tail. {I did no such thing!} The fury in his voice made me jump.

"Then why do you have it?" I asked, a little more determined.

{I... I was allowed to borrow it.}

"By who?"

{That's none of your concern!} He turned from me in a huff. I'd insulted his honor, his sense of pride, which was what the Andalites world seemed to revolve around.

I stood up and followed him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, really!"

I couldn't let my only ally be mad at me. It would only hurt our cause.

He was still angry. {Very well.} He must have realized it too.

I cleared my throat. "So, if we're going to fight the Yeerks, we'll need more morphs then a hawk, cat, and a fox."

{I agree. Larger, more ferocious morphs may also be necessary for battle.}

That made me feel a little cold inside. I remembered Floran that night, what must have been over a week ago, slicing the Hork Bajir Controllers to pieces...

No. Don't think about it.

"There may be some bigger animals like wolves or something in this forest. It would probably be good to grab a few morphs like that to be able to blend into the area. Just use the shredders to knock it out then get out of there before it decides to bite our hands off."

{Is that all?}

"Well... we have an aquarium...?" I sighed. "It's a small town okay? The nearest zoo is two hours away by car!"

{Then we will make due with the animals in this forest first, then go to the 'aquarium', after that the 'zoo'.}

"And exactly how do you plan to get us there?"

{We will fly. It may take us a while, but we can rest every hour or so.}

"Okay, sounds like a plan... I guess." Suddenly, I remembered something. "The map!"

{What?}

I ran back inside the ship and grabbed the maps and a red pen from my bag. "I'm going to mark all the entrances to the Yeerk pool that I know of on this."

I layed it out for him to see. "I'm not positive on exactly HOW big it is, but I know there are entrances all over the city."

I circled the locations where the entrances were. The Sharing Center. A gas station on the edge of town. The school. The mall. By the time I was done there were about a dozen different circles on the map. If it was right, the Yeerk Pool was probably as big as the town itself...

{We will have many openings to take advantage of.}

I nodded, a little hesitant. "Yeah, sure,we go in, but how do we get in with no one noticing?"

{Smaller creatures, like insects or rodents will be useful for that.}

"So tomorrow we start hunting beasties. Sounds good."

{After that, we must come up with a plan of action against the Yeerks.}

"I have a good idea where to start."

Floran eyed me, he seemed to have a hard time believing I had any idea what to do. {What do you suggest?}

"We start at the top and work our way down."


	9. Chapter 9

I listened carefully to the noises around me. As a fox can hear so much more it's almost overwhelming.

I could hear rabbits running to their borrows, I could hear the birds perched above me and their claws scraping the trees bark, I could hear bugs crawling on the ground. From every direction, sounds I'd never heard in such sharp focus.

In my claws, I had a mouse. Slowly I started to demorph, making sure to keep a grip on it.

I had it by the tail, it twisted and squeaked in vain.

I placed my fingers on it's fur and it went into a trance. I acquired the mouse and I let it go.

I looked up into the sky. "How much time do we have before we need to head for the zoo?"

Above me was a hawk, Floran was keeping an eye out for any more people as well as trying to stay a little more under the cover. No one looks twice at a hawk, but a blue centaur? A little more likely to attract unwanted attention.

{We should leave towards the zoo in about an hour.}

"Sounds good."

So far today had been fairly slim pickings... though we did run into a hunter. I may have accidentally shot him with the shredder. But he was fine! It just stunned him. Floran was able to acquire some of his DNA too. Soon he would have enough to combine the DNA to create a brand new morph. That way we wont attract attention by having Doppelgangers running around.

Walking through the woods with no shoes isn't fun. Even less fun with the bugs and mosquitoes. But I was getting used to it. It was strange how quickly I was getting used to all this. I was camping in the woods with an alien! Hiding from other, evil aliens! A few minutes ago I was a FOX for crying out loud!

We headed over to the river to get a quick drink. That, and chances were there may be some animals there.

I washed off my hands that were pretty filthy with mud, then took a few sips from the river, splashing my face.

{Don't move.} Floran ordered, suddenly.

I looked up. "What?"

{There's something following-}

"RRWWWOOOWWWRR"

I turned around just in time to see a giant monster of golden fur pouncing at me. I hit the ground and it's large body pinned me. On impact I heard a CRACK.

Pain, I knew something was broken.

I looked up and realized what it was.

A cougar!

If would go for my neck next! I reached up and grabbed one of it's paws, the one on my chest. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't get up. It took so much effort to try and concentrate...

But it was working, the Cougar went into a daze.

"Help.." I cried out weakly.

THWAK!

Floran had demorphed and hit the cougar with the flat part of his tail blade, knocking it off me.

I had to morph, I was defenseless! I had to morph now!

My body grew, not only in size but in strength. My teeth sharpened and my jaw grew larger. My nails retracted and reemerged as claws. I pushed myself off the ground and felt the final changes of the morph.

I roared at the Cougar. It backed away from me, but I charged. I lifted my paw, claws out and brought it down on it's head. I smelled blood instantly.

It stood on its hind legs, I did the same and we began to swipe at each other with our claws, snapping at each other with our huge jaws. It bit down on my head biting down on my ear and ripping the flesh from my skull.

I dug my claws into its side. Jerking my head away the rest of my ear ripped off. I was free to launch myself at the cougar again. I lashed out wildly. There was no strategy. Only the cougar's need to survive and my own panicked mind cowering below the surface.

I let myself fall back to the ground at lunged for the throat, biting down into it's flesh.

I was gasping for breath, blood dripping from my razor sharp teeth, as I stood over the dying Cougar. The Cougars instincts finally subsided, I stared into the eyes of the doomed animal...

It's body was surprisingly small, now that I got a good look at it. I could see it's ribs clearly underneath the loose skin. It was a weak, starving animal. I wasn't sure how to feel as the creature stopped breathing.

I heard Floran walk up next to me and I began to demorph.

When I was fully human, walked over to the river again and wiped the blood from my face.

{Are you alright?} He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah.." I tried to smile, but it twisted horribly. "Thanks for saving me."

I stood, my legs still shaking.

{I think we should wait until tomorrow to fly to the zoo.}

I shook my head. "No, it's alright. I'm fine, I'm alright..."

It was my first kill. I know I did what I needed to... to save myself. But that didn't stop me from remembering the cougars face as it died. Remembering the taste of blood...


	10. Chapter 10

Flying is the most amazing thing in the world.

Your body feels almost weightless as you cut through the wind. I flapped my wings and rode a gust of wind higher into the clear blue sky. I could see for miles, high above the highway and trees.

I was a crow. It was the best we'd been able to find. I wasn't as fast at Floran's hawk (even when he was holding a shredder in his claws) but I honestly did not care.

I was scanning the ground, looking for something familiar. I'd been to the Zoo before with Randy and his parents not that long ago, I wasn't exactly sure where it was, but I knew I'd know it when I saw it.

{It shouldn't be too much further!} I called to him in thought-speak.

He slowed down, gliding until I caught up. {If you're tired, we can rest.}

{No! I'm alright. Don't worry about me.}

I think he was worried about me... I guess he had good reason to be. Killing that cougar had... left me a little... okay, very messed up. But I couldn't let it stop me, we had a mission and we needed some serious firepower. Everything else could wait, my problems could wait. My problems weren't important.

Soon I could see the town up ahead, the sun was going down and by the time we reached the zoo, it was night. We demorphed and waited until the last of the staff had taken off for the night. We flew in over the gate and landed inside. Avoiding the security guards that patrolled the place.

Getting to the animals was a little difficult, the only way to adsorb DNA is in your normal form, I couldn't sneak over into the bear cages and acquire it.

I held the shredder, ready to shoot as Floran inched closer to the sleeping animal.

"There has to be a better way to do this." I whispered.

{If you find one, I suggest telling me, until then please refrain from waking the beast.}

I shut up as he managed to touch the thing without waking it, then we carefully left the cages.

It was a long, tedious process. That may sound strange when you consider that we were dealing with seriously dangerous animals. But you can only do a dangerous and stupid thing a few times before it comes a big hassle.

"There HAS to be a better way to do this." I muttered as I stepped out of the exhibit, Floran not far behind me.

"Hey, you! What are you doing here!"

A security guard! I closed the door most of the way, hiding Flo, then ran the other way. I'd loose them and morph. I ran into the building and through the halls. Finally, I found a door that was open and ducked inside, hiding in the dark behind a desk.

I could hear the footsteps of the guards outside. I was about to morph when I spotted the cages.

There were a few animals lying in the cages, most of them asleep. In one of them was a plain vicious looking bird. One of it's wings was broken...

I carefully opened the cage and placed a finger on it's head, it woke up, but didn't move as I acquired it's DNA. Then closed the cage. It would be a quicker get away then the crow.

I slipped out of the door and made my way out of the building...

I began to morph, when I heard a car pulling up. I looked out from the gate. A police car! The guards had called the cops!

A security guard approached the cop. "We found a vandal messing around in the animal exhibits. We lost track of one of them, but there may be more." He shook his head. "Stupid kids must have a death wish trying to break in here all the time."

The cop followed the security guard into the building. I needed to find Floran.

I headed back to the Panther exhibit where we'd split up... but he was gone.

"HAULT!"

I jumped and looked around, but saw no one. Then I heard gun shots!

I followed the shots and found the policeman he was shooting at a mess of blue feathers and talons and hoofs.

Floran! He must have been was in mid morph when they stumbled onto him.

I ran for the guard. "STOP! STOP IT!" I screamed.

The cops head jerked in my direction, then did a double take back to Floran, then me again.

I pushed the cop trying to knock him over, but he managed to keep his balance and grabbed my arm. I pulled back, trying to free myself. I saw Floran finishing his morph.

"Let go!"

The cop looked back to where Floran had been but he was gone.

"Wh-what?"

"TSSEEER!" Floran, in hawk morph, dove down onto the cop.

The cop let me go trying to cover his head from the hawk. I had still been trying to pull away. I fell back-

I couldn't catch myself! I couldn't-

My head hit the concrete, hard. Before I had time to panic, blacked out.

"Hey! Kid! Wake up!"

My eyes fluttered.

"Fllrrn?" I groaned.

I felt myself lifted off the ground. "...o the hospital."

"This kid... doesn't she look like.."

My head was swimming. I kept fading in and out of consciousness.

I was laying on something soft... I could see vague shapes and lights...

I could hear a voice, not very far off.

"...Hello? Is this th..."

What?

"Good evening sir this... police department, we've got your daughter here with us..."

Your daughter...?

"...ot a concussion. We caught her breaking into..."

I tried to sit up, there was a handcuff on my wrist. My head was pounding, I couldn't concentrate.

"...keep an eye on her until you get here.."

I saw a man walk up next to me, he smiled, reassuringly. "Don't worry kid, your parents will be here soon to take you home."

"My... parents...?" I managed to mutter I sat up and groaned, the cop gently layed me back down.

No! I tried to scream. No!

"You're going to be alright."


	11. Chapter 11

The cop was still in the room. He was sitting in a chair by my bed.

I was in a hospital. I was handcuffed to a bed. The Yeerks were on their way.

And I couldn't morph.

I couldn't focus on morphing, the only thing I was accomplishing was a head ache.

I looked at the cop, was he a controller? What could I say? There was no way to convince him to let me go. Either he was a controller, or he'd think I was crazy, or just making it up.

I had to get away! I couldn't get caught again.

Floran... did he get out? Is he alive? Does he know where I am?

"Wh- what hap... to th.. bird?" I asked, it was hard to speak.

The cop looked up at me. "What?"

"What... what happened... Y-you know, that bird you were... shooting at."

He frowned. "That was no bird."

"Sure it was." I said.

He shook his head. "I've seen plenty of birds in my life young lady." He said firmly. "And THAT was no bird."

I looked away for a moment, then looked out the window. "Don't tell anyone."

"Excuse me?"

I didn't look at him. "Don't tell... anyone about that bird..."

"Why?"

"You'll... you'll regret it. If you tell anyone about the bird... You'll regret it." I wasn't a threat. I don't know what he thought it was, but he didn't say anything. He didn't get the chance to.

"Sydnee!"

Standing in the door, brought in by one of the doctors... was my mom and dad.

No. Not my mom and dad anymore.

How did they get here so quickly! How much time had gone by?

I mom walked over to me and gave me a hug. "We were so worried about you."

I jerked away, unable to hide my revulsion. It wasn't my mother hugging me. It was a Yeerk. My mother was probably in there, screaming and crying. Seeing, feeling, but unable to move a finger.

"Thank you officer." I heard my dad say. "The doctor said it's okay if we take her home."

"Really?" The cop said, a hint of suspicion in his voice. "I was told she shouldn't move around because of the concussion."

"That's not what I was told." My father shot back. The Yeerk was in a hurry. He turned to me, unable to hide a smirk on his face. "We're going home now Sydnee."

I shrunk back in fear. It was over, I wanted to scream-

The officer caught my father's arm, pushing him back. "Hold on a moment sir."

My dad glared at him. "What are you doing?"

"One moment sir." The officer looked at me. "Are these your parents?" He asked.

For a few seconds, I had no idea what he was saying. I stared at him, then my parents. "No."

"She's lying!" My 'dad' snapped.

The officer shook his head. "Sorry sir, but unless you have some kind of proof that she's your daughter I can't let her leave with you."

"This is ridiculous!" My 'mom' spat.

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to escort you out."

The policeman ushered them out of the room. I saw him smile at me a little, I saw the looks of anger from the Yeerks.

I was safe. For a little bit longer.

I needed to morph! It wouldn't take them long to get proof and then the cop would be forced to let them take me away... I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the image of the animal in my mind-

That's when the door opened again.

I expected the policeman.

I wasn't.

Standing there, was the controller who I'd seen in the woods over a week ago, the one I saw leaving my house. He was their leader.

I glared at him but said nothing. He glared back. "You certainly are causing me a lot of trouble... for a child."

"I'm _so_ sorry for you." I shot back defiantly. I wasn't being brave. It took everything I had just to keep myself from shaking.

"I'm not sure what you said to the police officer, but don't think that will change the outcome."

"I'm not scared of you! You filthy slug!" It wasn't true, I was terrified, and not just of him...

"You-" He stopped. His head jerked like he'd heard something. "Fine." Then, suddenly, his demeanor changed. He sort of relaxed, then smiled. That freaked me out more then anything else. It seemed so genuine.

"Hello Sydnee."

I stared at him. What in the world was that!

He sat down and removed his sunglasses, tucking them into his coat pocket. That smile still on his face. "Forgive him, I know he can come on a bit strong. Yeerks have never been very adept at diplomacy. My name is Quincy Reed."

I stared in disbelief. "You're... his host?"

He nodded. "I am."

It took me a moment to understand. "You're... you're a _willing_ host!" I spat.

"I am." He confirmed.

I remembered the other willing hosts I'd see at the Yeerk Pool. They just stood there and laughed as other people were screaming for mercy in cages.

"Screw you!" My whole body began to tremble, my hatred was overwhelming.

"Calm down, I'm just here to try to talk you out of this foolishness."

"I have nothing to say to you!"

He nodded. "Very well, then I will do that talking. You don't have to talk, but you will listen."

I looked away from him, gritting my teeth.

"I know how you feel Sydnee."

I laughed. Yeah, right.

"I know you're an angry, scared child. You've been dragged into something you can't possibly comprehend. You've been mislead to believe that you're doing the right thing by the Andalite." He said the word with contempt, like it was a vile word.

"That Andalite is going to stop you! He'll stop you! You and the rest of the Yeerks!"

He smiled and laughed a little, it was like this was all a silly joke. "I thought you weren't going to speak to me."

I looked away, suddenly feeling foolish.

"What do you mean by 'stop' Sydnee? Do you mean 'kill'? Do you believe that, by killing me, you'll stop the Yeerks? If so, I'm afraid I'll have to be the bearer of bad news."

I focused on the wall in front of me, he'd say anything...

"The Yeerk inside me is known as Calgar 198. He has achieved the rank... of Sub-Visser 19."

What? What does that mean?

"In the Yeerk military the highest rank, under their council, is a Visser. There are forty-seven Vissers, and countless Sub-Vissers. Even if you did kill me, you would still have hundreds, thousands of others to fight your way through."

I didn't want to believe it, I looked into his face...

He was telling the truth.

I went numb. Thousands. Thousands of Yeerks.

"You're convinced you're doing the right thing..." He repeated. "But what makes you so sure that the Andalites are in the right? What makes you think the Yeerks are wrong? "

I gaped at him. Was he serious!

"They're kidnapping people!" I practically screamed. "They're abducting people and forcing them into SLAVERY!"

He nodded. "Yes, but why?"

I stopped. "Because... they need hosts..."

"And why is that?"

I shook my head. "I... I don't..."

"That's right." He said coolly. "You don't know anything do you? The Andalite doesn't tell you much, does he? I'm not surprised." He paused for a moment, watching my face. "They're fighting for their freedom." I didn't know what he was talking about, he must have realized. "Do you know what Yeerk are is their natural state Sydnee?"

"Slugs."

He ignored the insult. "They are blind. They are extremely limited physically. Without a host, they are utterly defenseless. And that's why they need us. They need our help to fight the Andalites."

"What are you talking about!"

His pale eyes stared into mine. "The Andalites have been hounding the Yeerks for years. If they had their way, the Yeerks would all be destroyed."

"Good."

He looked a little disappointed, appalled even. "Are you seriously saying you would enjoy the genocide of an entire race?"

I stopped at that. I hadn't thought of it as genocide... "They started it." It was a weak come back.

"They're desperate. They have to prepare for when the Andalites come here to eliminate them."

I swallowed, feeling nauseous. "And you think that justifies what their doing! What they did to me? Or my parents!"

He leaned in close to me. "Tell me Sydnee, what has free will ever achieved?"

{Sydee!}

My head ached. "What?" I groaned.

{Sydee, you need to morph! I'm outside. There are too many people here, too many controllers. You have to morph!}

I looked away towards the window and saw a dark figure soar past the window...

"Murder, rape, corruption. All of these are the products of free will. As a race, humans are inferior." He stood. "This is our chance, as a race, to become something greater, stronger, united! By cooperating with the Yeerks we can become a race WORTH something! That's why I am a willing host Sydnee. I can see the greater picture. You don't have to suffer Sydnee. Not you, your parents, or anyone else, if you could just see it too."

He was looking at me. We was waiting for me to respond.

{Can you hear me? We are running out of time!}

I didn't know what he was. I couldn't tell if it was the Yeerk trying to trick me. I couldn't tell if it was the hosts true feelings. Maybe he really believed what he was saying. Or maybe he was just crazy.

Maybe they both were.

But he was wrong. He had to be wrong.

"No. I don't see it."

He looked disappointed. "I'm sorry to hear-" His demeanor changed again. "-Waste of time! In the end, it doesn't matter what you believe. You're coming with us."

The Yeerk headed for the door, I grabbed the covers and threw them over my head.

MORPH! MORPH! YOU HAVE TO MORPH! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!

I opened my eyes and saw a strange pattern on my pale skin.

Yes!

I focused hard and, very slowly, began to morph.

"It's about time." I heard from the door. The Sub-Visser.

"Sorry sir, just doing my job." The police officer.

Focus! Focus!

My hand slipped from the cuffs.

"Time to go home Sy- What in the-!"

I heard someone run to the bed, they pulled back the sheet.

I was revealed, fully morphed into a falcon. The Sub-Visser, the cop, and my parents stood there for a moment, disbelief on all their faces.

My dad dove for me but I flew over their heads, towards the door, but it slammed shut! My mother had closed the door on me! There was no way out! I was trapped! They were after me! In this tight space it was only a matter of time until-

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the police officer. I saw him open the window.

"Hurry! This way!" He yelled.

I flew over the Sub-Visser's head and out the window.

I could see the police officer from the sky. {Thank you.} I whispered to him in thought-speak, though my heart was breaking. I knew what would happen to him now.

I knew...

I could hear shouting from the room. "Shoot it! Shoot it down!"

TSEEEW TSEEEW!

They were shooting at me with Dracon Beams!

But I was faster. I twisted and soared through the air, faster then the crow, faster then Floran's hawk.

We left the hospital behind. We left my parents behind.

But even as I flew away I remembered what Quincy Reed, what the Sub-Visser, had said and I knew... we didn't stand a chance.


	12. Chapter 12

We were silent as we flew. I had escaped, but my mind was racing and I felt empty. I was still free, but this was no victory.

Quincy Reed, Sub-Visser 19, whoever he was. He was crazy, he was the enemy...

But he was right. I was just a stupid kid and I knew nothing.

I couldn't see Floran, but I could hear him flying not far behind me.

_The Andalite doesn't tell you much, does he?_

I stopped flapping my wings and began to descend.

{What are you doing?}

I ignored him. I glided down and landed on the ground below.

{We should keep moving.}

"Why?" I asked. "What's the point?"

He landed in the trees. {They may still be trying to follow us.}

"NO!" I screamed. "You don't get it! It doesn't matter what we do! We can't win! There are thousands of them! Thousands of Yeerks and two of us! What's the point!"

{We don't have time to discuss this now.}

"Oh yeah? Then when will we? Back at your ship? Or are you just going to avoid my questions, like you always do!"

{You are upset.}

"How do you expect me to feel, I don't know anything!"

His hawk face revealed no emotion. {What is there for you to know? The Yeerks are invading and you can fight them.}

"But what _are_ the Yeerks? Where did they come from? And who are YOU! You expect me to risk my life and I don't know anything about you! And what about the rest of the Andalites? I don't know anything about this war. I don't. Know. Anything! How can I trust you when you won't tell me anything!"

He was silent.

"You're a soldier, a great Andalite 'Warrior'. And I'm just a kid... a stupid kid..."

I started to walk away, I didn't know what I was going to do now. Maybe I could hide... hide somewhere the Yeerks would never look.

{I am not a good soldier...}

It wasn't his words that made me stop. It was the shame I heard in them.

{I never wanted to be a warrior, but it was expected of me. I trained to fight against the Yeerks...}

"It was... expected of you?" I asked.

{I come from a family of Warriors, I am the eldest son in my family, and we are in a time of war. There was never any other option.}

"What happened?"

{I was a failure as a fighter. I was only made a warrior out of necessity. They needed me to fight in the battle... I had only just been promoted from a lowly Aritsh days before we reached this planet.} He paused for a moment. I could tell he was reluctant to continue, but he didn't stop. {When we came to this planet we were ambushed by the Yeerks. Our forces were devastated. Our Prince was no where to be found, probably killed in the battle. The dome ship was destroyed... and I ran...}

That surprised me. "You... ran away?"

{I should have died alongside my fellow Andalites. I should have died honorably in battle... but I ran. And now there is nothing I can do but wait for the remaining fleet to arrive and survive as long as possible. But I know little of this planet and it's people. I cannot do it alone...}

We were both silent for a long time, and I understood.

There was still a lot I didn't know, but at least I finally knew more about him. He tried to be serious and pretend he was in control but, in the end, he was just as scared and confused as I was.

We were both silent for a long time. I decided to break the silence. "You better demorph quick. We've still got a long way to go before we get back to the ship and we won't be able to take many stops on the way."

He flew down and demorphed. {When we return to the ship, I will tell you what you want to know about the war.}

I nodded. "I think I deserve to know."

{Yes. You do.}


	13. Chapter 13

Seerow's Kindess.

It is a law that the Andalites created after their greatest mistake. An Andalite Prince named Seerow discovered the Yeerks on a distant Planet. He realized they were extremely intelligent and took pity on them by sharing Andalite Technology with them, showing them the universe...

And they took advantage of his kindness.

They attacked the Andalites, they stole their ships, and a quarter million Yeerks escaped into the universe, slowly building their resources and infesting as many races they could along the way.

Seerow's Kindess is a lasting reminder to never trust other species. To never share their knowledge or technology. To always remember the shame and suffering those actions brought on the universe.

The punishment for violating Seerow's Kindess is exile or death.

I wasn't sure what to say when Floran finished his story. He was silent and his stalk eyes drooped.

"I think we should get some sleep." I said at last. "Then we can go and get your final sample of DNA for your Frolis Maneuver... then, we can take you for a test drive."

{What do you mean?}

"Once we have your human morph, we can go to the store or the mall and buy some supplies."

{It will be dangerous for you to be in a public place.} He pointed out.

I smiled a little. "Which is while I'll be in morph... We'll need to get you some clothes too..."

{This does not sound like a good plan.}

"You got a better one?"

He didn't say anything.

"So, tomorrow is a big day for you. Get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

Flo's ship is pretty amazing.

He'd managed to land it (Mostly) intact after the battle, but it wasn't equipped for long journeys into space. It was meant to return to the main ship after deployment, so it wasn't possible to use the ship to fly to the Andalites and get some help...

On the other hand, it had some sort of mechanism to be totally invisible to people on the outside. As long as he didn't go flying it around (And as long as nobody accidentally walked into it) it was almost impossible to find.

The roof of the ship also had a pretty neat ability to become see through to the inside, so you can look up and see the sky. This was mainly because the Andalites are so claustrophobic.

So, laying in Floran's ship, staring at the stars, I couldn't stop myself from thinking. About everything. All the things I'd tried to ignore because I had to focus on the Yeerks...

I thought of Seerow. He tried to help the Yeerks, he took pity on them and they betrayed him. Everyone blamed him.

But it wasn't his fault! He couldn't have known...

What did my parents feel when they saw me in the hospital?

I swallowed. The Andalites were trying to clean their own mess. Now Earth was stuck in the middle. According to Flo, he couldn't be sure when reinforcements from the Andalite Fleet would be here to save us.

If they came at all.

What did my parents think when they saw me fly away as a falcon? Were they relieved? Or...

No!

I closed my eyes, I didn't want to think about it. I could not think about it! If I did-

But it was already too late.

I was crying and I couldn't stop.

My parents are suffering. They're slaves in their own bodies right this very second! And here I am, safe. I go to bed looking at the stars, they go to bed with the Yeerk in their heads.

I suppressed a sob. I didn't want Floran to hear.

Why did I have to go to that stupid meeting? Why did I have to draw attention to myself like an idiot! Why didn't I see that something was wrong!

Why didn't I escape sooner? Why didn't Floran just listen to me! It's HIS fault I didn't make it in time! It's his fault they're suffering! It's his fault I have to fight in this stupid war... isn't it?

No... it wasn't...

I did this. I did. It was MY fault! I brought this down on my parents. I caused them to be taken. It was MY fault! MY fault! MY FAULT!

Nothing could stop the tears now.

My fault.

It was my fault.


	14. Chapter 14

We finally had enough DNA for a Frolis Maneuver.

There was a man hitch hiking (I was pretty sure Yeerks wouldn't need to hitch hike so we decided to use him) by the woods I pretended to fall and hurt myself. He was surprised to see me, so surprised he didn't notice the giant clue centaur alien sneak up behind him. Didn't even notice Flo touch his exposed arm. I wasn't sure what he thought when I suddenly got up, pushed him down, and ran away.

Not exactly subtle, I'll admit it but I wasn't aiming for subtle.

Flo began to morph. His tail shriveled into his spine as his fur slowly disappeared into human flesh. His stalk eyes shrunk and disappeared into growing chunks of blond hair. His horse-like body withered away to legs and-

I turned around quickly.

{I am done.}

I handed him some clothes behind my back. "Hurry and put them on."

{You may look now.}

Flo looked like any other guy you'd see on the street. He had straggly blond hair and dark green eyes. He was older then me, maybe in his 20s or so, and tall. Not freakishly tall, but a lot taller then me. Maybe taller then my dad!

"Looks good. I'd never guess you were an alien."

{That is good.}

I smiled. "So, are you ready for your big day?"

The store was pretty busy.

I had given Flo the money I'd taken from my parents house and was now snug in his shirt pocket. I'd made a hole, just big enough for my mouse eyes to see through.

{Okay, you're doing fine. Grab those water bottles on your right. Down a little- there you go!}

It was going pretty well.

"Free sample?"

Flo stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the woman, not sure what to do. I could hear his huge heart pounding. I peaked out from the pocket.

It was just some lady offering free samples of the stores iced lemon cake.

{It's okay Flo! Just take one of the squares and eat it.}

"With my mouth!" He whispered, sounding disgusted.

"Pardon me?"

He straightened up. "Excuse me. Yes. I would like a square to eat."

He took one, then slowly put it in his mouth.

It was the worst thing we could have possibly done.

The expression on his face to to total shock and awe. He barely swallowed the sample before grabbing for more!

"Hey! What are you doing!" The lady yelled.

{Flo! What are you doing?}

He was grabbing lemon squares and shoving them into his mouth! It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Of COURSE! Taste! He didn't have a mouth as an Andalite! He had no idea what it was like to taste something! And now he was causing a scene!

{Flo! FLO! Stop! Get a grip!} I yelled at him in thought speak, but it was like he couldn't hear me. {FLO! FLORAN!} I had to do something! Then, in a rush of panic, I turned towards his chest and bit down through his shirt, pinching his skin.

"Ommph!" Flo's mouth was full of iced lemon cake, he jerked in pain.

{Floran-Jakhal-Castouss! Put DOWN the tray! Put it down and step away from the lemon squares! Do you hear me? Step AWAY from the lemon squares! You will GIVE the woman some money and you will APOLOGIZE for acting like a CRAZY PERSON!}

He dropped the tray immediately (and in the most literal way possible making it hit the floor with a loud CLANG) then reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty handing it to the the lady.

"Auuh... Iuah sworreh..." He swallowed. "I am sorry. I apologize for my behavior. They are very good squares. I-"

{GO!}

He took off.

I finally managed to get him to run into the bathroom. It was a single-person toilet so we were able to lock the door.

"I'm sorry! I've- I've never lost my composure like that be-before. I've been pr-practicing my human morph and had thought I'd conquered all of the temptations of mouths. I- I am sorry."

{It's... it's okay Flo. Relax, it's okay.}

"They were very good squares."

{Yes... yes, I'm sure they were.}

We decided to demorph, then remorph in the bathroom (which was totally lots of fun and not crowded at all, especially with an almost full grown Andalite with a blade growing out of his butt) then, as quickly as possible, we bought our supplies and got out of there with only half the people in the store giving us crazy looks.


	15. Chapter 15

"This is a library?" Flo asked, in his normal volume.

"Shh! We can't be too loud here."

After the mess at the store I decided to go with Flo this time. I was wearing a hoodie, hoping no one recognized me.

"Oh. Right. I am sorry." He whispered, almost so softly that I couldn't hear him.

We went to the computer and I sat Floran down. "Look up anything you can about Quincy Reed. We need to find out where he lives."

Floran sat down and began to mess with the computer. "This will not be a problem."

I looked around the library. A woman was sitting at the main desk, looking painfully bored. Every once in a while someone would walk by, scanning the rows on books.

"I have something."

I looked back and scanned the screen... his address!

One of the awesome things about Andalites? They are amazing hackers.

I wrote down the address on a piece of paper and started scanning the other articles Floran had found.

"Quincy Reed... he's a shrink!"

Flo stared at the screen. "What?"

"He's a child psychologist... um... somebody who listens to kids about their problems..."

He stared at me. Apparently Andalites don't have psychologists. "What kinds of problems to children on your planet have?"

"Depending on the parents? Lots."

Then something else caught my eye.

TROUBLED TEEN COMMITS SUICIDE

I took the mouse away from Floran and scanned the article...

Willa Reed... took her own life... something about bullying. No real answers, lots of speculation.

I saw a picture of Willa in the paper. She wasn't very old. She was probably in high school.

His daughter, this was Quincy Reed's daughter...

"What is it?" Flo asked.

I shut down the computer, "Nothing. It doesn't change anything. We have the address, let's go."

We left the library with no problems, then headed for Quincy's address.

The Sub-Visser's house was in a nice neighborhood. All the houses looked similar with freshly cut grass and well tended gardens. At first I thought we'd have trouble finding it, especially in the dark, but we didn't.

Quincy Reed's house was run down. It wasn't terrible, but you could tell he did just the bare minimum for it's upkeep.

I guess being an alien brain slug takes a lot of your time.

We went at night, flying as crows. There was only a sliver of moon in the sky and the night was almost pitch black. We were practically invisible to the human eye.

We landed in the shadow of the next door neighbor's house in the back yard and demorphed.

"The lights are on." I whispered.

{I can see movement on the upper level of the home.}

Floran suggested we find insects and sneak in, but I voted for mice.

I hate bugs. I HATE them. Not ones like butterflies or lightning bugs, but spiders, roaches, flies? YUCK. They make me want to puke. There was no way I was going to BE one.

We morphed mice and crossed over to the next yard. It was like crossing through a jungle with blades of grass towering over us.

The mouse brain can be overwhelming. We'd both practiced morphing them, but even now I could feel it's brain shrieking 'Run, run, run!'

We reached the house and we used our sense of smell to find a way inside.

Luckily the house was a rat trap.

I could smell mold and rat droppings inside the walls.

{I can hear something.} I said to Floran. {Voices. Sounds like the Sub-Visser has some company.}

I jumped up onto the beams and clawed my way up.

{I've found them!} Floran called.

There was a small hole, I managed to squeeze my way through.

There he was. Quincy Reed, Sub-Visser 19. Another man I didn't recognize was arguing with him.

"Excuse me, sir, but I think it's time we informed the Visser."

The Sub-Visser glared at him for a moment, then sneered. "Do you now?"

"It's been over two weeks and we still haven't captured the Andalite."

"Alleged Andalite." He snapped. "Besides... from what I hear the great Visser Three... is having his own little pest control problem." He smirked at that.

{The abomination!}

I jumped at Floran's sudden outburst.

{What? What abomination? Who's Visser Three?}

Floran was silent for a moment. {Visser Three is the only Yeerk who has ever taken an Andalite for a host.}

{An Andalite?} My heart skipped a beat, I looked out to see if they'd heard that... no, no. I hadn't slipped up...

"The sighting was of an Andalite." The controller urged. "Three dead controllers-"

The Sub-Visser shrugged. "Could have been a bear."

It was obvious he was making it up. He didn't care that their was an Andalite running around. He had no intention of contacting Visser Three.

"And what about the escaped host?"

Me.

The Sub-Visser laughed. "You think the Visser cares about one host?"

"A morph capable host!" The other controller hissed.

The amusement faded from the Sub-Visser's face. "I wouldn't put much faith in rumors."

The controller must have realized he was on thin ice, because he changed his tune really quick. "Visser Three wont accept this type of failure! We'll all suffer if he finds out-"

The Sub-Visser stared at the controller for a few seconds, then smiled. "He wont find out. Will he?"

The controller shook his head. "No... no sir he wont-"

TSSEEW!

A shot! Not from the Sub-Visser! The Controller fell to the ground. He was still breathing, just stunned. I finally noticed the other man in the room. Until now, he'd been standing perfectly still in the corner. He'd shot the controller with a Dracon Beam on it's lowest setting.

"It seems 'rumors' of a morph capable host have begun to spread through my ranks." The Sub-Visser said, in a slow controlled voice. "Take him, find out who told him, who he told. I want this suppressed. I don't want that lunatic Visser Three breaking down my door, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

My heart skipped a beat, I knew that voice. Peaking my head out, I could see his face.

It was the policeman that had saved me back at the hospital.

{No...} I whispered.

I backed away as the Policeman grabbed the controller off the ground and dragged him away.

I ran back through the hole and out of the house, just in time to see the cop drive away.

I ran back to the other yard and demorphed, Floran not far behind.

{Are you alright?}

No. "Yeah..." I took a few deep breaths. "Let's head back... we can do this again later..."

He said nothing, but I think he understood.

As I flew away, back towards the woods, I couldn't stop thinking.

He sacrificed himself... he did it for me. He didn't know what he was getting himself into, but he did it anyway...

Another person taken by the Yeerks...

But I'd be back. I promised myself that. I'd save him and my parents. And I'd make the Yeerks pay for what they'd done.


	16. Chapter 16

Blackness. For a few seconds I couldn't see anything.

{Hello Sydnee.}

I realize my eyes are closed, I try to open them, but I can't.

{Is that the best you can do?}

I can't move! It's like my body is paralyzed! I can't move!

{Did you really think you had gotten away?}

No...!

My eyes open and I'm standing in that horrible place. I'm standing on the end of the pier.

"Sydnee!"

"Help us!"

My parents! I can hear them! They're so close and yet-

No! NO!

{LET ME GO!} Floran!

Three Hork Bajir controllers have Floran, they're dragging him the the Yeerk pool! All I can do is watch in silent terror. I can't move. I can't scream.

{It was only a matter of time Sydnee.}

I look down into the pool, I see my reflection. Only it's not me smiling. It's my body, but it's not me.

NO! Not again! No!

I laugh, the Yeerk inside my head makes me laugh. It laughs at my struggling, it laughs at my horror as I fall into the churning slime of the Yeerk Pool.

I'm drowning! I'm drowning! I can't breathe, I can't move! I can't even scream!

{Sydnee!}

I jerk awake, gasping for breathe. I'm in the ship...

I'm in the ship. I'm alive. I'm safe...

{Are you alright?}

I looked up, Floran was staring at me, I guess I'd worried him.

"I'm sorry..." I managed to say. "I'm fine, it's just a bad dream."

It was a dream...

I grabbed a water bottle and went outside. It was still early in the morning, we wouldn't head for the Sub-Visser's house until it was dark, so we had all day to kill. I took a sip and looked up into the sky. No clouds today, and the sun was beating down on us. Since that storm over two weeks ago (Had it really only been two weeks?) it had been hot and dry.

It had been several weeks, since I'd been freed from the Yeerks. After four months of being a controller... it felt like it had been so long ago, but I remembered it...

I remembered back when I was a controller.

_Three days was all it took to break me. Back then. Three days of watching the Yeerk impersonate me, talking to my parents, going to my school, three days of crying out for help... and no one being able to hear it._

_And it was time to go back to the Yeerk Pool._

_I walked along with a few other people, controllers. We opened a secret door and down the long, stone stairwell. I wanted to scream and hide._

_{Why are you so scared?}_

_It was the first time the Yeerk had acknowledged me in a while, I wasn't expecting it._

_{I can still 'see' your thoughts, as you put it, I know what you're thinking. Can you honestly blame me for ignoring them every once in a while?}_

_I still wasn't used to... talking in my own head... {You wouldn't have to see them if you weren't in my head.} I offered._

_{That's not going to work.} It replied. {There's no way out of this. Even if I did abandon you as a host body, you would just be taken by someone else.}_

_I could hear the screams now. Oh god, I could hear them._

_{They're wasting their time. No one's coming to 'rescue' them.} It sighed. I sighed... my body sighed. {They shouldn't be screaming in the first place.}_

_{Are you kidding me!} I snapped. How could it say that? How could it say that after everything it's put me through!_

_{Oh please. As if your life is so terrible now.} It mocked. {We don't want to kill you, and it's not like we're hurting you.}_

_I couldn't even think of a response to that. How could THIS count as 'not hurting' us!_

_{You love all those 'comic books' and 'movies' of aliens killing humans and eating them. You should be grateful we're not like the aliens in the trash you consider to be entertainment.}_

_I felt sick. It was wrong, it was so wrong. It knew everything about me._

_{It's my life... you have no right to take it from me...} I could barely manage the strength to say it._

_{It's not like you were doing anything with it.} It countered._

_The screams were so close now. {Please.} I begged. {I don't want to be here... please!}_

_{I have to feed.} I had no idea what it meant by that. {It wont take too long, a few hours.} It added._

_The stairs opened up to the Yeerk Pool. I hadn't been here since that awful night three days ago. The Yeerk stepped in line._

_In front of me were other controllers. They would walk up to the pier and kneel, then this... grayish-green thing slid out of their ears. They looked like slugs._

_Sometimes they would stand up and calmly walk away. Sometimes they screamed._

_{Don't be afraid.} It told me. {Make it easy on yourself.}_

_I knelt down, and for a few seconds I felt the strange tingling in my head. I felt it push out from deep within my ear canal and out towards the pool. And just like that, it was gone. I nearly collapsed, almost falling into the pool, but something caught me and pulled me to my feet._

_I knew it wouldn't matter, I'd seen all the others, but I couldn't stop myself from screaming. I screamed and tried to run, but a Hork Bajir Controller grabbed me, dragging me to the cages and throwing me in. My whole body trembled. I couldn't get up off the floor. I pushed myself in the corner of the cage and cried. I cried and cried. I wanted to puke._

_I looked up and saw the others, just like me. The humans were screaming or crying or just staring out into space... they looked dead... there was nothing there to resist anymore._

_That's when I saw a Hork Bajir. He was in the cage with us. I nearly peed my pants, they were terrifying to me. But I noticed he didn't look sad or hopeless, like we did. He wasn't screaming or crying..._

_He turned in my direction and I quickly looked away. It scared me then. I didn't understand then._

_I wasn't free. The Yeerk was gone but I wasn't free. But even so, for the first time in three horrible days, I could move my hands. I could blink my own eyes. I could speak._

_I couldn't take it all then. I plugged my ears and buried my face in my knees. I started singing to myself, Hush Little Baby. Don't ask me why. I just whispered softly to myself, because I could._

_It wasn't long before they came back for me. I shrunk back and started to cry again as they dragged me back to the other pier, but I didn't struggle when they forced my head down, or when I felt the Yeerk touch my ear and enter my head again..._

_It was a mix of sickness and relief._

_Now that the Yeerk was fed, I didn't have to be in this awful place anymore... but now the Yeerk was back... and as I stepped out of the Sharing Building I realized the truth I'd been so desperately trying to deny to myself._

_There was no escape. There was no way out of this. This was my life. This would be the rest of my life._

_For the first time I thought of what that meant. I was just a kid. I would live fifty, sixty years, maybe more. If they kept me that long. Maybe when I got too old they would just kill me._

_Fifty years. Fifty years of this._

_I wanted to die and get it over with. I wanted to die and for the first time I wasn't just saying that because of some stupid fight with my parents. I meant it._

_I wanted to die._

_{Why would you think that?}_

_Hate surged up inside me. It was looking at my thoughts! {SHUT UP! SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE! I HATE YOU! YOU SICK, UGLY SLUG! I HATE YOU!} My hate was quickly replaced by despair and there was a long silence._

_{Why would you want to die?} It repeated. {This kind of life is better then no life at all.}_

_I wanted it to go away, I wanted it to leave me alone. There was no fight left inside me. There was nothing left of me... or at least that's how it felt. I felt so small, so trapped, so insignificant. Why was it doing this to me? Why?_

_I couldn't live like this, I couldn't, I didn't want to._

_"I don't understand you." It said with my voice. "I don't understand any of you." It muttered with contempt. It was angry, I could feel it... but something else too... something I could barely feel but not quite put my finger on..._

_Looking back... was it bitterness? Hurt? It couldn't have been._

_It went on. {The Gedds were too simple to understand, let alone resist... but the Hork Bajir are like you. They never accept us, this. They would choose death to life as a host. But they're minds are infantile. They're too stupid to accept it!}_

_Hork Bajir... those aliens with blades..._

_{You may never accept it either, but it's real Sydnee. This is real and it's not going to change. You may hate me, you may even try to fight me, but it's pointless. Be thankful that you're alive, be thankful your species has some use to us, and be grateful that I am trying to be civil to you.}_

_My body began to move again. {You can try to fight me.} It repeated. {But it will only break you Syndee. I will break you. The more you fight me the weaker and weaker you'll be, and soon there will be nothing left of you but a pitiful shell. I've had many hosts over the years, I know what I'm talking about.}_

_I knew it wasn't lying but I still didn't want to believe it._

_{Don't make me do that Sydnee.} It was a threat. At least, it felt like a threat._

_{Why does it matter to you?} I asked it._

_{Because if you accept this, it will be easier for both of us.}_

_I knew what I should have done. I should have violently denied everything it said. I should have bravely decided to strike back and vow to never surrender. I should have vowed to escape, no matter what, or die trying..._

_But I didn't._

_I didn't say anything to it... but we both knew I had given up._

But that was then...

I looked down at the bottle of water I had in my hands. Now, weeks after being freed. The condensation trailed down the bottle and on my hand. I took a long, satisfying drink.

It was strange thinking about that now. Thinking of Nisret 4199. The Yeerk who had spent four months in my head.

I could see Floran, he was trailing over the grass, trying to find a nice place to 'graze'. The usually green grass was starting to turn brown and yellow from the lack of rain and the heat, and he was having a hard time finding some good grass eat... with his hoofs...

I was lucky. And not just by escaping either. I was lucky that the Yeerk in my head wasn't bad to me. I know that's a weird thing to say, but it's true. I'd seen others who had Yeerks that enjoyed messing with them, making them feel worthless and destroying them little by little...

Nisret didn't care about that. I'm not sure what he/she (Yeerks don't have 'genders' like we do) cared about but it wasn't that. Four months and I still didn't- hadn't completely understood her/him (It's confusing)

I looked up at the sky again. The sun was just coming overhead now. We still had hours to go until we needed to get moving...

I was ashamed to admit it... but sometimes... I...

Sometimes...

I... missed it..

Not being a controller! I didn't miss that... or not being able to move and speak...

Sometimes... just sometimes... I missed talking to somebody. It sounds strange, it IS strange, but it wasn't always bad... frustration yes, embarrassing definitely... but sometimes it wasn't all bad...

It made me sick to admit that to myself and I would never go back as long as I could help it... but I did feel a little.. emptier...

Sometimes.

You hear about 'Stockholm syndrome' talking about when people get kidnapped and start to like their captors or whatever... four months ago I couldn't even fathom what kind of person could feel that way. How messed up a person would have to be to feel that way. I guess it takes on a whole different set of issues when your kidnapper is literally in your head.

I didn't understand how I felt about it. It's beyond confusing. I couldn't talk to Flo about this, he couldn't believe that Yeerks were anything but evil...

I thought about my parents. Would the Yeerks in their heads be like Nisret? Would they take pity on my parents? Or would they be tormentors as well as kidnappers?

My parents...

My parents were always busy. They didn't really spend a lot of time with me, we didn't really talk either. I was always so angry at them for that.

It was always the same. "Goodbye Sydnee. Don't stay up too late." And off they went.

Even after Nisret had been in my head for over a week. Besides that, it was insane how nothing had changed. Honestly? I was really mad at them.

_"Try to eat something OTHER then cereal, okay Sydnee?" My mom said while grabbing her purse._

_I didn't see why Nisret even pretended to be me. My parents wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. They were too busy with work._

_"Bye Sydnee." My mom called as she headed for the door, business as usual._

_"Do I not matter to you?"_

_Wait, what?_

_For a second, I had thought I had imagined it. But, no, I had said it. No, it hadn't been me..._

_The Yeerk turned to face her, she had paused at the door. "What?"_

_"Do I not matter to you?" The Yeerk repeated._

_My mother rolled her eyes. "Sydnee, don't be dramatic. You know I love you."_

_She says that, but-_

_"No I don't." It said back. "It's hard to tell when you're never here."_

_"Can we not do this now Sydnee, I have to get to work." We'd fought before, several times, I guess she was used to it by now._

_"Is your work more important then your daughter?" It asked._

_My mom tossed down her purse. "Okay Sydnee, you win! I'll just quit my job, will that make you happy?"_

_{And she calls you dramatic.} The Yeerk mocked._

_"No." It answered. "But you're always working. You and dad."_

_My mom shook her head. "I don't have time for this." She grabbed her purse and walked out._

_I was shocked. {Why did you do that?}_

_{I only said what you were thinking.} It replied._

_My parents were always working. They weren't bad parents I guess. They didn't let me starve or beat me, they just worked all the time. There are worse things then that. They just left me alone..._

_{You're not alone anymore.} It stated. It wasn't trying to be comforting and it wasn't trying to scare me. It was a fact._

_Whether I liked it or not, whether I had wanted it or not, I wasn't alone._

_I wanted my parents to be with me, I wanted them to understand me._

_I've never had a lot of friends. I've never really been that close with... anybody. There was Randy... but even then, he didn't know me... I wanted my parents to know how I felt..._

In a weird way, the Yeerk gave me that. It knew how I felt, always. It may not have understood why I felt a certain way, but I knew. It knew me better then anyone else had in my entire life.

I didn't know how to feel about that.

I still don't.

I was snapped out of my trance by Floran, who was walking up to me. {You've been sitting there for hours. Are you sick?}

I shook my head. "Uh, no. Sorry, I'm just... I dunno... thinking... I guess."

{Perhaps we should go to the store. You must need more supplies by now.} He suggested... a little too eagerly.

I stared at him suspiciously. "You just want more lemon squares, don't you?"

His stalk-eyes drooped and avoided my gaze. It almost made me laugh. I was getting better and better at reading him.

He was starting to pull away more and more from the Andalite Warrior shtick, honestly, I like him better this way.

Maybe it was because he trusted me?

I rolled my eyes. "You can't go into the store again. If you did and that lady saw you, she'd probably call security."

{I am sorry.} I repeated. It really did bother him that he'd lost it like that.

I sighed. "...tell you what, I'LL go in and by you some lemon squares."

He seemed pleased at that then tried to be serious. {No, you can't. It's too dangerous.}

"I'll be fine. I'll wear a hood or something. As long as we don't make a habit out of it, I think we'll be okay."

He seemed to accept that. {We may have to move to another area. The grass is mostly dead here.}

I nodded. "Yeah... we can scout out some new places while we're flying tonight."

Floran seemed satisfied with that and walked off.

I couldn't talk about Yeerks with Floran, there's no way he would understand.

I closed my eyes. I was tired.

I stood up and walked back into the ship to lay down.

It was too confusing, it was too complicated, and I didn't want to think about it anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

There was no moon that night. If we were hard to spot before, we were invisible now. We landed a few yards away and landed in a tree.

There were no lights on in the house and we saw no movement in it. {Looks like no one's home.}

Floran scanned the area. {It appears so, this may be a rare opportunity to search the Sub-Visser's home freely.}

{Do you really think he would keep something important here?} I was a little skeptical.

{If there is, it will be hidden my some kind of security. Yeerks have stolen the technology of other species for their own purposes, specifically Andalite technology.} His thought-speak was laced with disgust. {I will be able to identify such defenses and should have no trouble circumventing them.}

{Um, are you sure?}

{I am.}

I thought it over for a minute. {Yeah... okay, go for it.}

I dropped from the tree and landed in the yard below and began to demorph.

{You have been in morph for almost an hour.} He said. {Perhaps you should demorph as well.}

{Good idea.} I went down and demorphed to human. Before morphing again, I took a minute to catch my breath. Morphing takes a lot out of you.

Floran began to morph again and soon my human eyes couldn't see him in the pitch-black night. I knelt down and whispered. "Floran?"

{Yes? What is it?}

"I... just be careful alright? Don't do anything crazy in there. No unnecessary risks..."

He was silent. I began to think he'd already left. {I will do only what is necessary.} He confirmed.

I was pretty sure he was gone, when I felt like I had caught my breath I morphed Falcon.

I flew over the house, scanning the area. No suspicious activity. Every once in a while a car come... but they always drove by.

I landed in the tree. How much time had passed? I couldn't be sure. I wasn't a walking wrist watch like Floran. Twenty minutes? Thirty?

I was starting to get nervous, my mind flipping through the worst case scenarios. What if it was a trap? What if they were there waiting and caught him? Maybe he was hurt, or unconscious. Maybe he was dead...

I pushed those thoughts away. I needed to focus.

I flew around the house, I could see inside the windows, but saw no movement. Not Floran or Yeerks. I saw some bedrooms on the second floor. I thought I saw something strange... I landed on the sill...

It was a girls room. The walls were covered with posters, some I hadn't seen in years, others I didn't recognize at all. On the floor, under the bed, I could spot some stuffed animals... hidden from sight. I could see stacks of books and magazines on the shelves and a lot of make up in front of a mirror...

It looked like a totally normal girls room... at least, what I thought they probably looked like.

But the room looked like it hadn't been touched in a long, long time...

It was his daughter's room. Quincy Reed's daughter, Willa's room.

I had tried not to think about what I'd learned about Reed and his daughter who committed suicide. I told myself it didn't matter, and it was true. In the end, it didn't change anything. But part of me didn't want to let it go.

I remembered what Reed had said in the hospital about humans, about free will. He'd seemed so angry. Part of me wondered if she was why. Part of me wanted to know more about Quincy Reed.

I heard another car coming driving closer to the house, I flew up into the air...

I could see the Sub-Visser inside! I flew down to the house. {Floran! Can you hear me? Floran! The Sub-Visser, he's coming back! If you can hear this, hide!}

{I need more time!} I heard suddenly. {You must keep him from the house!}

{What?}

{This is important! I will explain later!}

The Sub-Visser's car pulled up into the driveway. I didn't know what Flo was doing in there but I had to think of something!

I took off into the air as the Sub-Visser stepped out of his car, there was someone with him.

I dove down, claws out, to hit the Sub-Visser. Before I could hit him the other controller tackled him, making me miss. I almost hit the ground but managed to catch the wind and flew back into the sky again.

"Was that a bird!" I heard the controller ask.

"You imbecile! It's THEM! The child and the Andalite!"

I circled around, the Sub-Visser handed a Dracon Beam to the controller.

"Shoot! Shoot them down!" He ordered.

"But I can't see them! And, what if the human's notice-"

"I don't care! Just shoot!"

TSSSEW!

A spot rang out, but it was far from me. He was shooting blind.

I circled around and went at them from behind, going for the Sub-Visser again-

TSEEEW!

{AAH!}

I was hit! My wing was hit by the Dracon Beam! I smelt burnt flesh. I was falling!

"What are you doing! I want them alive!"

I managed to pull up before crashing into the ground, and landed in the backyard to the other house.

I could see the bloody stump that was my left wing. The Dracon Beam must have been on a higher setting. It hadn't made a direct hit, it it had I would be dead.

Within seconds the Sub-Visser was there I expected him to come at me... but he looked around the yard, squinting at the darkness.

I didn't move, I stayed perfectly still. He couldn't see me if I didn't move.

"Go inside and grab a flashlight! Now!" He ordered. The other controller ran off and the Sub-Visser examined the yard. "Give yourself up." He called out to me. "Surrender and make it easy for yourself."

I didn't move. Not an inch.

"Are you the Andalite? Or is this Sydnee?" He asked. "If you surrender, I'll let you see your parents." He offered.

Before I could stop myself, {Yeah, on my way to the Yeerk pool.} I spat.

His head jerked. He wasn't sure where the voice came from.

He laughed. "If you surrender yourself to me, I'll let your parents go free."

I didn't answer.

"You don't believe me?" He asked innocently. "With a morph capable host for myself, and an Andalite for my superiors, what use are two humans to me? I can be quite generous."

I felt sick. Then I thought of Flo, maybe if I kept him talking it would give him more time. {You want me to be your host?}

"There is only one morph-capable host under our control. With you as my host, I can finally advance my rank, I'll be a Visser before the year is out!"

He was walking around the yard, trying to see me.

{Why would you want my body?}

"As opposed to the Andalite's?" I look of disgust on his face. "No, I have no interest in Andalites. I will have the credit for his capture, and that will be enough."

{You haven't caught him yet. You haven't won.}

The other controller returned, handing the Sub-Visser a flashlight. He turned it on, scanning the area, until the light landed on me.

A sick smirk crossed his face.

"GGRRRRRR!"

I heard It before I saw it. Suddenly, a huge creature launched itself into the air. It attacked the Controller with the gun!

It was a dog!

{Flo! Is that you!}

Suddenly, he was on me. Flo lunged at me and the next thing I knew, I was in his mouth. He ran past the Sub-Visser and the other controller and down the street.

I could hear their shouts as we got further and further away, I started fading in and out of consciousness...

{Sydnee?}

I opened my eyes... Floran, staring at me in Dog morph.

{Demorph! Demorph now!} He ordered.

I closed my eyes and focused on my human body. It was harder then usual. It was like trying to run when you were sinking into the mud. The longer you stay in morph, the harder it is to turn back. And if you hit two hours, there's no going back.

I would be stuck as a one winged falcon.

FOCUS! FOCUS!

Slowly the changes started. My body grew and the feathers were sucked back into me and flesh took it's place. My hollow bones replaced by bigger, denser ones.

After a few moments, I was myself again. Human.

I let out a sigh of relief as I flexed my left hand.

{Can you stand?}

I pushed myself off the ground, legs a little wobbly. "Y-yeah... yeah, I'm okay."

{Good, we need to hurry back to the ship.}

"Did... did you find anything?"

{Yes... I may have found something...}

"Like what?"

He was silent. {I'll tell you when I am sure of what it is.}

I shook my head, too tired to argue. "Okay... sure..."


	18. Chapter 18

Flo had been examining the data since we'd gotten back. Apparently he'd pulled out a lot of information from the Sub-Visser's house, but he still wouldn't tell me what it was.

"Hey..."

One of his stalk eyes turned towards me. {Yes? What is it?}

"I've been thinking... how long do you think we're going to be able to keep this up by ourselves?"

He paused. {It... is hard to say.}

"Yeah. And you said the Andalite reinforcements wont be here for a while right?"

If they come at all...

{Yes...}

"So... I've been thinking..."

{Yes. You said that.}

"Maybe we should use the Escafil Devise."

That made him stop. {You want to recruit more humans?}

"Yeah. I've been thinking it over for a while. I think we should try to free as many controllers as we can. They already know what's going on, and they'll be more likely to want to help us out."

{I am not sure that is a wise course of action.}

"Why not?"

{We have no idea of the mental state of a controller, we also have to be wary of voluntary controllers. And they may not wish to fight at all, in which case they would become a liability.}

"Well, we can't do this alone."

{I understand your concerns...} His eyes went back to the screen.

"Are you okay? You've been pouring over that stuff for hours. Maybe you should take a break."

{I will. Soon. Not yet. We... we can continue this discussion later.}

I groaned, then stood up and left the ship. "I'm going to wash up. Be back in a bit."

He didn't respond, probably too absorbed in his data.

The sun was setting and the sky was turning a dark red. I needed to hurry before it got too dark.

I headed for the river and headed downstream, upstream was where we got our water.

I stopped for a moment... smoke, I smelled smoke. Maybe someone was camping nearby and started a fire. When I get back I should tell Floran.

I splashed water on my face, my arms, my legs. Back before the invasion, I'd always wanted to go camping. If it was anything like this, then I could officially say that camping sucks. Too many bugs and no showers. I missed showers.

That's when I noticed... off in the distance... lights.

I looked up to the sky. The sky was red... but I realized the sun had already set.

Large clouds of smoke began to rise up from all directions...

The realization slowly dawned on me...

The forest was burning!

I needed to get back to Flo! The fastest way was to fly!

I focused on my Falcon morph. As I did the fire spread quickly, the air was full of smoke.

It hadn't rained in weeks, the heat had been so oppressive. The fire would consume everything.

When I'd finished morphing, I took of into the air. Just before I'd reached above the tree tops, I saw another bird fly past me-

TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

The bird was hit! It fell from the sky and back into the fires below!

TSEEEW!

I dodged the blast and dove back towards the trees. I looked up... but I couldn't see anything!

No, wait, I did see something... just barely I could make the outline of... something in the air-

Ships. There were cloaked ships in the air, shooting any birds that tried to fly out.

It was the Yeerks. It had to be!

I flew down the forest floor. I couldn't fly, I had to run.

I demorphed then morphed fox.

I bolted out through the fires. The heat racked my body from all sides, the smoke suffocated me.

I was coming onto the clearing where the ship was.

{FLO! FLORAN! The Yeerks! They're here! They're burning down the forest! Get out! GET OUT!}

I ran towards the ship...

but it was gone.

All that was left was twisted, burning metal scraps.

I ran towards what was left of the ship. {Floran! Floran? Where are you? FLO!}

No. He can't be gone! He can't be gone!

I searched the ship for some sign of him. Praying I wouldn't find his shredded corpse.

TSEEEW!

The ships had spotted me from above and started shooting, I ran and managed to take cover in the trees. The trees that were burning.

The information we stole. It must have been something important to do something this drastic.

I struggled through the smoke and fire, I was running towards the freeway. I had to get out of there!

I could see it! I was almost there! I was going to make it!

TSEEEW TSEEEW!

Just as I reached the pavement, shots fired, I fell back towards the woods.

I can't fly, I can't run!

There was no way out!

I couldn't think. The smoke was overwhelming. I couldn't breathe!

I ran in another direction, there had to be something I could do!

That's when I saw something leap up above me.

Looking up, I saw a familiar creature leap from one tree to another. Through the fires.

A Hork Bajir. I could see was carrying something...

It was an Andalite.

It was Floran!

I jumped up, onto the burning wood, my claws digging into the bark. I pushed myself up then ran at the Hork Bajir.

I wasn't thinking straight, all I could think of was Floran.

I leaped at the Hork Bajir my claws digging into his flesh. {LET HIM GO!}

He screeched and swiped at me, knocking me off his shoulders. I almost fell from the trees, but managed to dig my claws into the branch enough to pull myself back up before it collapsed. I went at him again biting into his arm, clawing as deep as I could into it's arms.

I was so busy with him, that I didn't see the second one.

I was hit hard and I fell. For a few seconds my body twisted wildly in the air as I plummeted towards the ground. My body hit several branches on the way down, knocking the air from my lungs.

Just before I hit the ground, I was caught by the Hork Bajir.

I tried to struggle, but found myself loosing consciousness...

**DEMORPH.**

What?

**YOU MUST DEMORPH.**

Flo? Is that you?

**DEMORPH OR YOU WILL BE TRAPPED FOREVER.**

Flo... I...

Flo


	19. Chapter 19

I drifted in and out of consciousness for a long time. At least, it felt like a long time. It could have been hours or minutes.

At first, the pain was unbearable. I couldn't even breathe. But, slowly, the pain disappeared completely.

"Sydnee?"

I heard a voice... it was a deep, gruff voice... it seemed so far away...

"Sydnee?"

My eyes opened, slowly. The images around me came into focus...

I was surrounded on all sides and I was looking straight into the eyes of a Hork Bajir.

I tried to stand but was tied up!

"LET ME GO!"

I was captured! Captured by Yeerks! It was over!

"Sydnee! Calm down, think for a minute. If we're the enemy, why aren't you enslaved yet?"

I stopped and stared at the Hork Bajir. "What?"

"Why haven't we infested you yet?" He asked again.

"I..."

"Because we're not going to hurt you." He said.

I shook my head. "You- you're a Yeerk." I'd only ever heard Hork Bajir speak so fluently when they were controllers.

He nodded. "I am."

I looked around the room. Two Hork Bajir, three humans.

"I... I don't get it..."

"Perhaps I should explain."

From the other side of the room, I saw a man who looked... very familiar.

"You're the mayor...!"

The man smiled. "Yes, my host is Rubin Vance. The mayor of this town. My name is Inix 230, and we are the Yeerk Peace Movement."

It took me a while to fully understand...

"Host sympathizers." I blurted out.

That was the term for Yeerks who had become too attached to their hosts and had become affected by feelings of guilt. I'd heard about them before, back when I was a controller... but only in whispers. Penalties for being a Host sympathizer were steep.

He laughed. "Yes, I suppose you can say we are."

I looked down at my hands, they were bound together.

"They're just a precaution." Said Inix. "We didn't want to doing anything foolish until we explained the situation." He motioned to the Hork Bajir, and they used their blades to cut through the ropes.

I stared at him for a minute. "So... you... what happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

I looked down, thinking back. "The forest... the river... the fire! The Yeerks were burning the forest down! And our ship- Floran... where's Floran!"

One of the Hork Bajir moved out of the way, and I saw Floran. He was layed out on the ground... he was covered in horrible cuts and I could see singed fur... but he was breathing. He was alive.

"The Andalite escaped the ship in time." The Hork Bajir controller explained. "However, the blast wounded him, knocked him unconscious."

"And... you two pulled him out of there?" I asked.

"When you found us."

I looked down and saw fresh cuts along the Hork Bajir's arm. They weren't at all lethal, but they didn't look pleasant either.

"I'm... I'm sorry." I muttered.

He smiled at me. "It is nothing in comparison..."

I was about to ask what he meant when- "Wait, I was a fox. I was in morph! How am I human right now?"

The controllers stared at me for a minute. "You don't remember demorphing?" Inix asked.

"N-no..."

He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Perhaps you did it subconsciously, or maybe you managed to stay awake long enough to focus on demorphing while we were bringing you here."

"Yeah... maybe..." I stared down at my human hands. "So... why did you save us? Not that I'm not grateful..."

Inix sat down across from me. "We need your help."

I nodded. "Okay, why?"

"Because Sub-Visser is about to launch an attack that will cripple the Andalite forces, as well as any chance for peace."

I stared at him, not sure if I could trust him. "Yeerks hate Andalites."

He looked back at me, unblinking. "The arrogance of the Andalites is staggering, and we have little love for them as a species... but they are a necessary evil to our cause."

"And that is?"

"To stop the Yeerk invasion of Earth. To stop the senseless destruction and enslaving of other species."

"Why should that matter to you?" I questioned.

His eyes darted away from mine. "It didn't... for a very long time I believed everything I was told about our race, about the war, about our hosts... but I see now that I was wrong."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

He was silent. "My reasons... are my own. The only thing you need to understand is that we want to help you."

I stared at him, then looked around the room at the other controllers...

"Okay... what could possibly be so dangerous about this attack the Sub-Visser's going to make?" I asked. "The Andalite fleet is thousands, billions of miles away right? How could the Yeerks do any sort of damage to them? Especially when they're here?"

"The Yeerk forces are not just on Earth. They are also spread out, fighting the Andalites and attempting to infest other species." Inix explained. "Normally, it would take years to reach The Andalite home world from Earth. But now, they have developed of a new type of travel. One that will allow the Yeerks to move across those billions of miles... in mere moments."

"How is that possible?"

{A teleport.}

My heart leaped at the familiar thought-speak. Floran staggered up from his place on the floor, holding his side.

{The Yeerks have created a working teleport.}

I stopped. "Wait... teleportation? But you're aliens! Are you seriously telling me you have the technology to zoom around the universe, turn into animals, but don't know how to teleport?"

{No one has been able to create a system in which one can be teleported from one point to another and survive.} Floran explained.

"Until now." I turned to the other familiar voice...

"You!" It was the cop! The one that helped me escape!

He smiled. "He is glad to see you are alright." The Yeerk inside his head... he was a member of the Peace Movement too?

"O-okay, so the Yeerks are making a teleporter, or something, why is this such a bad thing?" I asked.

{It's the coordinates.} Flo answered. {I had been examining the blueprints of the teleporter before the attack. In order for the device to work it must have two working gates. One where you enter and one where you will exit. It is the connection between these two points that make the travel possible.}

"So... what's the problem? If the Yeerks create an entrance gate, who cares?"

Floran was silent.

"There's more to in then that..?"

The cop turned to me. "The devices are almost complete. The project is expected to be completed in four days, and the attack will begin in five."

I felt an uneasy feeling grow. "O-okay... where ARE the coordinates? Where is the second gate?"

{The Andalite home world... my home.}

"But how! How in the world could the Yeerks get a gate onto the planet with no Andalites realizing it? It's not possible!"

Floran shook his head. {No. It isn't.}

I didn't like the sound of that. "So... that means..."

{Traitors. Andalites on the home world are working with the Yeerks.} He spat. {I didn't want to believe it... but it is the only possibility. They are creating a gate that will allow the Yeerks to storm my home. Many will be captured and infested, more will die, and the Andalite fleet will be completely cut off from all resources. Without those supplies it will only be a matter of time...}

"Until the Andalite forces are overpowered. And the Yeerks win."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

I wanted to take a moment to say something about the end of this chapter.

There were two plot points that were introduced in the Series Animorphs but were never really used as far as I remember, that being The Yeerk Peace Movement and The Yeerks infiltrating the Andalite's Planet.

So, the Yeerk Peace movement will be an important part of Sydnee's and Floran's final battle.

And while we saw an Andalite traitor in one of Ax's books, I decided to use Allorans warning to Ax. That the Yeerks had infiltrated the Homeworld. I'm not sure why an Andalite would WANT to join the Yeerks... unless they think it's a loosing battle and are siding with the 'winning team' or they hate their own race for being full of arrogant A-Holes...

Whatever, I'm using it.

Also, there's the teleporter.

I'll freely admit it's been a while since I read the entire series (I never could find and buy all the books) but I'm pretty sure teleportation was never a technology that was used in the series when the Ellimist wasn't involved. If it was already created in the stories, I'll alter what I've written to be just 'ZOMG the Yeerks will take the homeworld!'

If I'm wrong, please let me know.

I hope you've enjoyed this story so far, and I hope I can make an interesting ending to Sydnee's and Floran's adventure.


	20. Chapter 20

"Sub-Visser realized that you had taken the blueprints, he couldn't allow you to discover their plan and hoped to destroy you before you had the chance to contact the Andalites and warn them. It forced him to take drastic measures."

I nodded. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed burning down a forest to be that drastic."

Inix wasn't as pleased with my sarcasm as I was. "It's worse then you think."

"How much worse can it possibly get?"

Inix was silent for a moment. "He was forced to contact the Visser and inform him of the situation."

"By... by 'the' Visser, you don't mean... 'that' Visser, do you?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes. He contacted Visser Three."

I had never met Visser Three, leader of the Yeerk invasion of Earth, the only Yeerk who managed to take an Andalite as a host, but I'd certainly heard about him.

He was ruthless and blood thirsty, to both sides. Even before having met Floran, I had heard about Visser Three and his insane cruelty. Though I had no idea at the time. They were all terrified of the Visser, even if he was on the other side of the country.

"The Sub-Visser had hoped to keep all of this quiet." Driss continued. "He didn't want the Visser knowing about you or the Andalite until you were captured or dead."

Inix smiled a little. "I don't envy the Sub-Visser. No doubt he will be servery punished."

I tried not to seem nervous. "So... is the Visser here?"

Inix shook his head. "No. But he plans to be there when the first troops are sent through the teleport."

"So we're going to have to fight him!"

"No." The cop smiled. "We're going to take out the portal long before he and his troops get here."

{I must contact the home planet.} Floran interjected. {I have to warn them of the betrayal.}

"The problem with that plan is who you tell. We have no idea which Andalites are traitors, you may just inform the enemy of the attack, if they believe you at all."

Floran glared at Inix. {I know who I can trust.}

I decided to run interference. "We still have a few days to plan and decide what to do... just... relax, okay?"

Floran backed off, but he wasn't happy.

I guess old grudges die hard.

I needed to change the subject. "S-so, where are we?"

Inix looked happy to oblige. "This town provides a residence for the Mayor, we're currently using it as a base of operations."

I nodded. "Okay, so what happens now?"

"You're probably tired, rest for a while, get something to eat, and tonight we can begin discussing strategies."

The first thing I got to do that day? Shower. I got to take an honest to god, hot water shower.

I was stepping out when I saw a girl, she was about my age and holding a basket full of clothes.

"Uh... hi." I stuttered.

"Hi." She muttered. "Inix said you probably needed clothes."

"Oh, yeah, thank you."

She placed the basket down and was about to leave. "Um wait a minute!"

She stopped. "Yeah? What is it?"

"Are... are you a controller too?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. But my dad is."

"Wait... what!"

She looked at me like I was stupid, then replied. "My dad is Inix's host."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

She shrugged. "No."

I didn't like this girl. Not one bit. Even if Inix was a Host Sympathizer, how could anyone not care that their dad was basically a prisoner in his own body!

"Is that it?"

I looked away. "Yeah. That's it." She made me sick.

She walked off and I got dressed, in freshly washed clothing. Then I ate food, real cooked food. It was the best I'd felt in almost a month.

I turned on the TV, the fire was being covered by the local news. It was all a horrible accident assumed to have been started by some stupid campers who hadn't properly put out their fire. According to the news, the fire would have been much worse... if so many volunteers from the Sharing hadn't helped contain the blaze.

A cover up. Of course.

That night, we all sat together and went over the plan.

Besides Mayor Vance and Inix 230, there was the police officer Eli and his Yeerk, Driss 757.

The two Hork Bajir were Tek Falmee and Kan Hashut, and their Yeerks, as well as two or three other human controllers.

Inix and Driss explained it to us. "As we said, the invasion of the Andalite's planet will be in five days. You will strike beforehand. Our objective is to destroy the machine, as well as any and all notes and blueprints associated with the project."

"That way, if they want to try again, they'll have to start from scratch!" I said and Driss nodded.

"That's right."

Inix continued. "It also means we will have to take the necessary precautions with the scientists associated with the project."

{You mean kill them?}

They were all silent. "Sacrifices must be made."

{For 'peace'?}

"Yes. If the Andalites loose, the human race will not stand a chance. Even if the rest of the empire would call us traitors, we have no choice but to act."

I thought it over. "But... what about the other scientists? The Andalites on the other side of the teleport? Even if we got rid of the scientists here, couldn't they just send them the information again?"

Inix nodded. "That's why our Andalite 'friend' here, will go through the portal himself, before we destroy it."

{And you expect me to fight these traitors all on my own?} Floran snapped.

Inix and Floran shot glares at one another.

"Are you sure you can trust this person you wish to contact?" Inix asked.

{Yes. I would trust them with my life.}

"...Then you will contact them before the mission." Inix relented.

I nodded. "So we just need to break into a high security Yeerk Lab, fight through an army of controllers, get Flo through the portal, blow it all up, then what?"

Silence. They all exchanged solemn glances then looked at me...

At first, I wasn't sure what it meant. Then it dawned on me. There was no 'then'. Getting in would everything they had.

Floran's main eyes widened. His stalk stretched up and darted across the room, then to me.

He understood too.

It was a suicide mission.


	21. Chapter 21

The first opportunity I had to sleep in a bed in almost a month and, wouldn't you know it, I couldn't sleep.

I stared up at the ceiling, my mind racing.

Three days.

Three days left.

Tomorrow I would practice my cougar morph and Kan Hashut would show me the best way to... fight a Hork Bajir. I rolled over in the bed, feeling sick.

Three days left to live.

{Sydnee.}

I crawled over to the window. Floran stood outside. The sliver of moon illuminated the yard and put him in silhouette. I couldn't see his face in the darkness.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

{I could not sleep.}

I nodded. "Yeah, but you shouldn't be outside anyway..."

{I wanted to talk to you.}

"...Okay. About what?" Although I had a pretty good idea what it was.

{The mission.}

"Yeah, what about it?"

{Come with me.}

Okay, I hadn't thought he'd say that. "What?"

{When I go through the portal, come with me.}

I looked away, then shook my head. "I don't think I can."

{You said you would like to see my planet one day.} He reminded me.

"Yeah..." I smiled, sadly. "But I still can't. They'll need me here to fight off the controllers while they destroy the teleporter."

{...You are very brave...}

He says that, but why do I feel like crying? "Thanks..." I sighed. "Try to get some sleep okay?"

{Yes... goodnight Sydnee.}

"Good night Floran."

The next day started early.

Kan Hashut's Yeerk was very thorough.

"Hork Bajir are very fast healers. The best way to kill a Hork Bajir is to aim for the throat, make a quick killing strike. Otherwise they will heal and attack you." To demonstrate, he took a few lunges at me to show me the range of a Hork Bajir's blades. "You must not hesitate. Do not think about the host."

It was strange, because that's exactly what I was thinking of...

"You know what being a controller is like. To a Hork Bajir, death is freedom."

{What about YOUR host?} I asked.

"He agrees with me, and he will happily die to stop the Yeerks."

{So you say...}

"You can ask him yourself when I leave his body to feed." It replied.

{You're going to the Yeerk pool?}

He smiled (Which is really terrifying coming from a Hork Bajir.) "Not exactly. We have a portable pool here, in the mayor's home."

{Are you serious!}

He just shrugged the Hork Bajir's shoulders. "It was installed to infest the Mayor Vance, as well as any other Mayors that may take his place."

I demophed and sat down, taking a breather.

That's when I noticed Inix was talking to Georgia.

And by Georgia, I meant Georgia Vance, Rubin Vance's daughter.

I had been watching the two for a while now, and the longer I did the sicker I felt. She smiled at him, talked to him, and hugged him... like he was her dad.

But he wasn't. He was a Yeerk. A Yeerk in her father's body.

"Is something wrong?"

I looked over, Eli, the cop, he left the house and sat down in the grass.

Not Driss, just Eli. Driss was in the Yeerk Pool.

I walked over to him... the real him for the first time. "Not really..." I said.

I think he can tell I'm lying but he shrugs.

"I... wanted to thank you. You know, for your help at the hospital."

He stared at me for a moment, then gave a tired smile. "You're welcome."

"And... I'm sorry for pulling you into all this."

He shook his head. "This may sound strange to you... but I'm not sorry this happened at all."

"What!"

"Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been a pleasant experience... but you know what?" He paused, picking up a twig from the dirt. "A few weeks ago, I had no idea that aliens even existed. But they do. And they're taking over the planet. So I'm glad I know now, so I can fight back." He snapped a twig in half. "I'm glad I found out now, while there's still a chance to save us, instead of later when there won't be."

It was strange... but that made a lot of sense.

"Of course... I guess I'd be feeling different if I hadn't been assigned to be Driss's host." He added. "I'm lucky he's not a total bastard."

I laughed. "You know he's gonna know you said that, right?"

Eli grinned. "That's what he gets for being nosy. Yeerks have no real concept of privacy do they?"

"No! Not at all!"

We laughed for a minute, it wasn't that funny, but I think we both just needed to laugh.

Eli pushed himself off the ground. "So, how are you feeling? About the mission?"

Well, that killed my mood. "Fine..." I murmured.

"Don't worry, we'll be there to back you up as long as we can."

I smiled, but it was fake. "Thanks..."

"Hey!" I looked over, Georgia, who was glaring at me. "Inix wants to talk to you and the Andalite."

Eli shrugged at me then ruffled my hair. "Off you go little hero."

I stared at him as he walked away, stretching his arms and legs, enjoying the ability to move.

Hero? What a joke.

I followed Georgia back into the house and to Inix.

"We just got word that the lab has been fitted with Bio-Filters." He told me.

"Bio-Filters? What's that?"

{It's a technology the Yeerks stole from us.} Floran stated. {It scans all life forms that go through it and if an unauthorized life form is detected, it emits a loud alarm and blast wide-range rays which kill any life form whose DNA pattern isn't entered into the computer controls.}

"Aaand that really sucks." I frowned. "How are we suppose to get passed that?"

Inix smiled. "Simple. One of you will morph Mr. Vance, and the other will morph into myself."

{What!} Floran snapped.

Inix gave him a wary glance. "Do YOU have a better idea?"

Floran was silent. But I could tell he didn't like it. The thought of becoming a Yeerk disgusted him.

"I thought that the two of you would be more comfortable if you were to morph one of us. But I suppose you could morph Mr. Blake and Vance and we could-"

{Absolutely not!} Floran practically screamed.

Yeah, this is not going well.

"What would you suggest then?" Driss sneered.

{I will NOT morph into a Yeerk! And I will NOT let YOU into my head!} His tail lifted over his head, he felt threatened, ready to strike.

I ran to him. "Floran, calm down! I'll morph into a Yeerk and walk you in."

He didn't look certain. {Syndee...}

I tried to look comforting, I smiled. "Come on, it's me right? Don't you trust me?"

His stalk eyes narrowed and his main eyes closed for a moment. {Yes. I trust you.}

"Have you decided?" Inix asked. "Worked out all of your issues?"

{Fine.}

I nodded. "Yeah, we're ready."

"Good." He turned to Driss. "Go."

Driss left for a minute, before coming back with syringe...

"What's that for?"

Driss shot Inix a worried look before he replied. "It's a sedative."

{Sedative?} Floran asked suspiciously.

"Then... who is it for?" I asked, knowing I probably wouldn't like the answer.

Inix winced. "...it's for my host."

"What!"

He shook his head. "The sedative is for my host. If we didn't take these measures, he would run."

"What the hell!" I screamed.

Inix gave a nervous look to Driss. "You have to understand-"

"No! No! Forget it! I don't wanna hear it!" I couldn't listen to this. I stormed out.

It made me sick. It was different then Eli. Vance was an unwilling host. Like I was. Forced to watch and held in a cage for a few measly hours.

Floran was close behind me. {Are we going to leave?} He asked, maybe a little hopefully.

"I- I don't..."

"What are you doing!" Georgia. Rubin Vance's daughter. "They need you to make this plan work! What's wrong with you!"

"What's wrong with ME? How about you! You're dad's a slave in his own body and you don't even care! You're paling around with your father's kidnapper! A slug!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" She snapped.

"I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE AN UNWILLING HOST!" My voice broke, my fists clenched at my sides, I wanted to hit this girl.

She glared at me for a moment, then lifted her shirt.

I had no idea what she was doing... then I saw the scars. They were old and faded... but there were a lot of them.

"My DAD did this to me." She said. "My human father." She covered her stomach, her voice now very quite. "Everyone thought he was such a great guy... but he isn't... he's a worthless coward." Now, looking at me. "And that 'slug' has been more of a father to me, then my real dad ever was!"

"Georgia." Inix stood in the doorway, Georgia went to him. He brushed some of the hair from her face and smiled at her, then looked to me. "Perhaps you and I could speak privately?"

I looked at Georgia, then to Floran. "Fine."

I followed him back into the house, into a room in the back. It looked like some kind of private study.

Inix sat in the chair, looking tired. "I told you... that my reasons for joining the Yeerk Peace movement were my own. But... if it will help you understand and work with us, I'll tell you."

I nodded, not sure what to say.

"We took Rubin Vance as soon as he was elected. I was told that if the daughter gave me trouble, we would infest her as well." There was a bitterness to his voice. "I had believed I knew what to expect. Before taking a host, we are given an idea of what to expect. How to handle the family, how to behave in public settings, addictions that a host may have to certain foods or other substances..." He was stalling. "I picked Georgia up from school that day and she appeared to never knew the difference... but I noticed the fear in her eyes. At first I thought she suspected me... until I realized... it was not me she was afraid of." He paused for a moment and rubbed his temple. "She noticed the change in her father's behavior... I told her the truth... and she accepted me. We stayed that way for a while, but over time I realized that it could not last. When we succeeded in taking this planet, I would have to take her to become a host... to be brutalized again. I would be considered a traitor for not doing it sooner. It became a choice, between her or them."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You... you're doing this for her?"

"I do not understand it myself. Yeerks do not have children or parents in the same way our hosts do... We reproduce through fusion. Three Yeerks merge into a single organism, which breaks apart into hundreds of separate grubs, destroying the parents in the process... I don't understand it, but in the end, understanding is irrelevant. I am on your side Sydnee, we want the same thing. Without you and the Andalite, the mission will fail." He stopped, waiting for me response. He wanted to know if he could count on me.

I nodded. "...Okay..."

He seemed to relax. "Good... then you should practice the morph along with your friend. Come."

He left the room and I followed him.

I didn't know how much of his story was true. It's not like he didn't have reason to lie to me... but I believed him. And in the end, he was right.

He needed my help. How I felt shouldn't matter. I was doing this for the human race.

More then that, I was doing it for the people I cared about, and so was he.

If that meant I'd have to die...

So be it.


	22. Chapter 22

Floran reached out to Vance to acquire his DNA.

Rubin Vance was sedated while Inix left his body. Slowly, from his ear, a green-gray thing emerged and exited Vance's ear. Georgia caught him and placed him on the table in front of me.

It was Inix, it was a Yeerk.

I'd only ever caught glimpses of them back at the Yeerk pool.

It was about six inches long, it looked a lot like a slug.

Feeling a little sick, I touched it's body. It was warm and slightly slimy.

I focused, acquiring the DNA.

Floran was already morphing into Mr. Vance. And now all eyes were on me...

Talk about stage fright.

I took a deep breath... then began to morph into Inix.

My arms melted into my sides, my legs merged together, and my body began to shrink.

At the same the time, my body began to bloat and my features flatten, skin stretches.

Suddenly, I was blind! The world vanished! I couldn't hear anything!

It was like half of my scenes were just cut off.

No going back now.

I'd felt was it was like to have your insides change and shift. But this was very different.

I felt my bones and organs melt away and vanish completely.

Finally, it was over.

I lay on the floor, blind, deaf, barely able to move.

Even though I was blind, I had an idea where everything was. It was some kind of echolocation, like bats are suppose to have. I released electrical waves and could make out a rough draft of my surroundings by how they bounced back.

I was totally freaking out.

{Sydnee?} Floran, I could hear him. He was trying to hide how disgusted he was... not doing a very good job.

It must have been a hell of morph to watch.

I called back to him in private thought-speak. {This is the worst morph I've done so far.}

{Better you then me.}

If I could have laughed, I would have. {Did you just crack a joke? That's a first.}

{Why do you assume that it was a joke?}

{Because if you weren't joking, I'd have to disown you.}

Someone took a step forward, I could feel the vibration. Something warm wrapped around my body, lifting me up in the air.

I was lifted to a small hole... Floran's ear.

The Yeerk instincts took over.

I went in. My body shot out some sort of slime, a pain killer, so I wouldn't cause any damage. I pushed my way through the tiny tunnel. Squeezing and pushing past bones and other tissue.

Then I felt a jolt, like I'd touched an exposed wire...

The brain.

I stopped for a second, my human brain surfaced and I started to panic.

Don't. Stop! Let the instincts guide you through it.

I stretched my body out, over the brain, then sunk into the crevices. My body connected with the neurons, putting me in complete control over the body. It's really hard to describe. I could feel the body I was in, it wasn't me, but it might as well have been.

SIGHT!

The sudden overload of sight blinded me. For what must have been several minutes, all I could do is look at everything. The colors! The shapes! The textures and patterns! I could see.

I could SEE.

And the sounds... I could hear the wind blowing from the open window, I could hear the birds, the sound of fabric as someone moved beside me, the sound of gentle breathing. I was ecstatic! Just the sound of the air conditioner humming made me want to weep with joy!

_-mistake, this was a mistake!_

Whoa, what was that?

It took me several seconds to recognize what I was experiencing.

It was Floran. His brain, his thoughts, his emotions. All pouring into me.

I could feel his fear and sickness at would had just happened, he couldn't move. I could see that he was trying to calm himself, but the anger was too much.

His brain sent off signals to his hands, trying to reach up and grab his ear, but I intersected the signals, leaving him paralyzed. I felt him trying to demorph, back to Andalite, he wanted his tail. He felt naked without it, defenseless.

It was hard to handle, there was no stopping the stream of information from Floran's brain. No filter. Every thought was mine to see... whether I liked it or not.

"Sydnee?" I 'heard' through Floran's ears. It was Driss and Eli, staring at me, looking concerned.

I wasn't sure what to do.

I started to scan the different parts of the brain, shifting through it's functions, trying to find out how to speak to him.

Suddenly I saw images.

_I saw a huge landscape. First, of a city. One of the few remaining cities left on the planet. I rose and saw, beyond the alien city, rolling hills full of grass of different colors, stretching for miles. We rose further still. In moments I was no longer looking at the familiar Andalite sky, but into the vastness of space. My eyes looked back to the planet, which was mostly covered in land with a few large bodies of water..._

_We had only just departed, and already I was homesick._

I realized what it was, memories. Floran's memories.

I felt Floran's embarrassment at the memory. He was meant to be a warrior, yet he was soft and fearful. He'd never wanted to leave his planet, he never wanted to be a warrior like his father. He'd always been too small, he was the worst at shooting a shredder or tail fighting. He would rather take it apart, take it apart and see how it worked. His sister was lucky, she would never have to see battle, she would never have to feel his terror. She-

"Holy crap!"

I had tapped into the part of the brain that allowed speech.

"Are you alright Sydnee?" Driss asked.

"I... I'm fine, I guess. My God... there's so much...!"

Driss nodded, smiling knowingly. "Try to relax. It's overwhelming at first, but you'll get the hang of it."

"Try moving around." I heard Kan Hashut say.

"I'm not sure how..."

"You can feel our instincts, correct? Follow them." It was Inix. His voice slightly slurred from the sedative they'd given his host.

_Hurry up, hurry up, get out, get out of me! Get out of my head!_

"Hold on." I said. I wanted to try to speak to Floran.

I focused my words to his mind. {Flo?}

What is it? Is there something wrong? Is that why we haven't moved yet?

{Flo, relax, nothing's wrong. You're going to be okay.}

That's easy for her to say. She's not the one with a Yeerk in her head.

{Flo, I AM that Yeerk.}

I know that, does she think I'm stupid?

{What? No, I never said you were stupid. This is getting ridiculous. Flo, try talking to me, reading your thoughts isn't fun for either of us...}

I could feel him trying to figure out how to do it, the frustration and embarrassment. {Sydnee?}

{You did it!} Thank goodness. {Don't worry, this is almost over.}

"Sydnee, you've been in morph for thirty-three minutes." Driss reminded.

I took control of Floran's mouth, tongue, vocal cords. "That long?"

"Yes, try to walk."

I searched through the brains functions again, then tapped into the part of the brain that controlled movement.

I tried to move all at once, Floran's leg shot out, but the rest of his body did not follow and he nearly took a prat fall onto the linoleum floor.

Driss caught me and pushed Floran and pushed him back up. He laughed. "It's a good thing we have time for you to practice this, otherwise you'd be spotted and the mission would be over before we even got through the door."

"Sorry." I made Floran say.

{Syndee. Please try not to damage my body.}

{I said I was sorry!}

Moving was not like pressing a button, in order to walk I had to send out all the commands myself. I had to lift the leg, use the other leg to push the body forward, I even had to control the angle of the foot as it landed and continue the cycle. Every action took effort.

"This is exhausting!" I turned Floran's head to look at Inix.

He smiled. "Not really. It's all just instincts. Though your human brain may be making it more difficult, It will get easier with practice and experience. After a while you it takes no effort at all."

"It helps if you allow the human's natural instincts to walk guide you." Driss informed.

"Wait a minute." Georgia interjected. "So she's suppose to use the Yeerk instinct to tap into the body's nerves at the same time as those instincts let her tap into the human instinct to walk? And she needs to do all that while not letting her own human brain cause interference?"

"You just blew my mind with that." I managed to say. Finally getting the hang of walking.

"It's been an hour." Driss announced. "Take a little while to move around the house, try to interact with things, get the feel of it, then you can leave the host and demorph."

"I AM NOT A HOST!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden scream.

Floran's anger at being called a host caused him to scream. I hadn't been focusing on him, I hadn't intersected the command to scream in time and it had burst out.

Being called a host was too much for him. Host meant enemy. Host meant slave, victim. He was not a host. He was not a controller!

{Whoa, Flo, calm down!}

I saw a sneer from Driss. "What's wrong Andalite?" He was enjoying this... he was imagining the Andalite, his enemy, under 'Yeerk' control.

Old grudges die REALLY hard.

"Cut it out!" I snapped at Driss. "That's not helping."

He sighed and relented, looking away.

"I think that's enough..." I announced.

A wave of relief from Floran.

{Hey, Flo?}

{Yes?}

{Do not squish me.} I'd seen the image of squishing the disgusting Yeerk that crawled out of his head flood through his mind. No filter.

{Sydnee, I would never squish you.} Of course he wouldn't.

I released the brain, and suddenly I was blind again. For a second my heart broke. It was terrible...

I pushed out through the ear canal, then out into open air. I felt hands wrap around me, lifting me up and placing me on something cold and hard.

I demorphed as fast as I possibly could, more then a little relieved when I had my eyes and ears again.

Floran had already morphed back to Andalite by the time I was finished.

"That..." Georgia stated while wrinkling her nose. "Was totally gross."

"No kidding." I agreed. I turned to Floran. "You alright?"

{Yes. I'm fine.}

I sat down. Exhausted.

"Is that why you're wearing that bathing suit?" Georgia asked. "For morphing?"

I looked down at my bathing suit and blushed. It was pretty worn and had a few holes in it. "Uh, yeah, it's the only thing I had that morphed with me... I guess it only works with tight clothing."

"That sucks."

I nodded. "Yeah..."

Inix stood, seeming to have his senses back. He smiled and clasped his hands together. "I think that went well."


	23. Chapter 23

I sat on the back porch, watching the sun set. The sky mostly golden with dark purple around the edges, and redder towards the sun. It was so beautiful. The first grasshoppers started to chirp.

"It's good, isn't it?" I turned and saw Driss, staring down at me. "Now that you know what it's like..." He paused for a moment, but I knew what he meant. What it's like to be a Yeerk. What it's like to be like him. "Everything is more beautiful now."

I nodded. "...yeah..."

"And you understand why others would do what they do. Why some decide to enslave a host to have it?"

I stared at the sky for a moment. "I understand... but that doesn't make it right."

"Maybe not, but don't pretend you wouldn't do the same."

I shook my head. "No. You're wrong about that."

He sneered. "Oh please, I saw the look on your face when you changed back. You couldn't take it for two hours, let alone a life time."

I thought it over. "...I'm not saying I would like it... I'm not even saying I'd want to live that way at all... but I... I don't think I could live with the guilt." I looked up to him, and saw his features soften... "Why did you join the Yeerk Peace Movement?" I asked him.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, then sat down next to me. "I've been in a lot of battles." He said at last. "I'd gone through many hosts..." He stopped and stared out into the distance. "...one day, we ran into a small Andalite fleet. The battle went on for almost three days, though I wasn't able to take part in it."

"Why was that?"

"Because an explosion had caused catastrophic damage to my host's body. It was torn into pieces, but she still clung to life. One thing that made Hork Bajir so valuable to us was how strong their bodies were..." I saw horror in his face as he remembered what happened. "I was trapped. Her ear canals were damaged and I couldn't escape. While the battle went on, I was trapped inside my dying host. I felt it slowly dieing. I felt every. agonizing. moment." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I had convinced myself that a host was just a body for me to use. I had decided to believe the lies I had been told, that the host did not matter, to never see them as a sentient being... but faced with our mortality... I finally understood how wrong I was." He shook his head. "I almost died from Kandrona starvation... but we had escaped the battle and I was salvaged from my hosts body before it died... after I was removed, the body was destroyed. The great Yeerk empire has no use for crippled hosts..." He laughed bitterly. "I don't even remember her name... I never took the time to find out."

"I'm sorry..." I wasn't sure what else I could say...

He stood. "Does that answer your question?"

"Y-yes..."

Driss walked away.

The sun was almost gone, the horizon was a dark red.

This day was over. Two more days before the mission.

I stood up and decided to go to bed.

I went up the stairs, up to the room I'd been given, ready to go to bed and sleep... but someone was standing by the door.

It was Kan Hashut.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You..." He stopped, it was hard trying to read a Hork Bajir's expressions, even though technically it was the Yeerk making them. "That must have been a strange experience for you... after being a controller yourself."

"I guess..." I mumbled. "It... it was very... I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Yes... I suppose you wouldn't..."

What was that suppose to mean? What was this guys problem? If he had something to say, say it.

"Look, I'm really tired, can this wait?"

He nodded. "Yes, of course..."

He left. That was strange. Whatever, too tired to care.

I went into my room and collapsed on the bed.

That night, I slept like the dead.

"Hey. Hey Sydnee."

I groaned, rolling over.

The bed was so warm, so soft. Let me sleep.

"Wake up!"

Noooo. Sleep.

The covers were ripped off and I wasn't so warm anymore. "Hey!"

Georgia dropped the blanket on the floor. "Breakfast is ready."

I groaned, then forced myself out of bed. "Fiiine..."

It wasn't a fancy breakfast, just some eggs and toast, but it was still better then I'd been eating.

Georgia left with Inix, they said they needed to run an errand...

Was it bad that I was still suspicious?

Afterwords, Driss went into greater detail of the plan.

"We will have to enter the building through the main entrance, all eyes will be on us. It wont take them too long to realize we're not suppose to be there. Once we're inside, you'll have to leave the Andalite, the two of you will demorph." He stopped to smirk at me. "You have some more ferocious morphs the a fox, right?"

I blushed. "I... I have a cougar... and Flo has a panther..."

He frowned. "Is that it?"

"We tried to get more morphs at the zoo... but that didn't end out so well..."

He nodded. "Well, after you morph, we'll have to fight our way to the lab. When we get there we'll kill the scientists. Destroying the machine shouldn't be too much of a problem, but powering it up will take several minutes."

{So we will have to hold off the controllers until the portal is ready.}

"Yeah, pretty much. When it's ready, you'll go through, then we'll have to start destroying the teleport."

"Assuming I can hold them off long enough for you to pull that off." I muttered.

There was a weight hanging over us. The day after tomorrow, only one of use would still be alive.

"If everyone's clear on the plan, then all that's left is for your friend to contact his people."

Floran perked up at that. {Yes, I am ready.}

Floran had never been able to reach the home world by his ships communications. (It wasn't designed for it like a Prince's ship might be) but now he would finally be able to reach his people. I could tell he was excited.

"Sooo... who are you gonna call?" I asked him.

{Lanam. She will know what to do.}

"She?" I smirked. "Is she your girlfriend?"

{My elder sister.}

Oops. "Oh."

Driss revealed the console and Floran walked up to it and began to take control of it.

Slowly, on a screen, an image came into focus.

It was an Andalite. But it as very different from Floran.

It was smaller then Floran and it's fur was purple.

"Who is this?" She demanded.

For a second I was confused. I had actually HEARD her thought-speak... because the computer was emulating it. Not how they usually beam it straight into your head.

Her eyes widened, she looks almost as if she'd faint. "Floran? You're alive!"

I could see Floran smile. {Yes... yes I'm alive. It is good to see you.}

"We... we thought you were dead."

He nodded. {Yes, I am sorry for that.}

I cleared my throat. "Uh, Flo, no offense but..."

{Oh... Lanam, I'm afraid I have urgent news.}

"What is it?"

{I... the Yeerks...} He began, but stopped. Like he was trying to find the words.

"We have reason to believe that the Yeerks are mounting an invasion of your planet." I told her.

Her stalk eyes went to me, eying me with suspicion. "And you are you? What would you know of the Yeerks, let alone their plans for invasion."

Oh, right. Andalite superiority.

{She is telling the truth.} Floran insisted. {...The Yeerks have infiltrated the home world. They are building a portal that will allow the Yeerks to invade the home world directly!}

Lanam's eyes widened in disbelief. "How... how is that possible?"

{Lanam... if anyone would be making the portal, it would be in our city, being created by our scientists, like you. Do you know anything of this?}

"No! Of course not..." She started to say.

"You don't look so sure." I pointed out.

Her eyes looked at me again, sizing me up. "...There has been a project that has been overseen by a few soldiers. Very few of us have been allowed to see what they are doing. I had assumed it was some kind of new weapon."

I looked to Floran. "You think that's it?"

{It's possible...} He paused then turned to Lanam. {Do not get involved personally. But you need to contact the Electorate and inform them to what is happening.}

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

{We are going to destroy the gate, I will be coming through it and confronting the traitors the day after tomorrow.}

She nodded. "I understand, I will do what I can."

{Be careful Lanam. I will see you soon.}

She smiled at him, in that Andalite way then her image disappeared.

"So, we're all set then?" I asked.

He nodded. {I suppose so...}

We're both silent, but I know we're thinking about the same thing.

"I guess... I guess I'll get back to work..."

{Yes, of course.}

Not that there was much work to do. Now we just had to wait... which was probably the hardest thing we had to do.

Outside, it the back yard, Kan Hashut and Tek Falmee, they were scraping off bark from the trees and eating it. It was strange to see Hork Bajir doing what they were actually suppose to.

They saw me coming. "Sydnee. You ready? Ready for mission?"

Oh, their Yeerks were gone. These were the real Kan and Tek.

I nodded, though I didn't really feel ready. "Yeah, I guess. How about you? Are you ready?"

"Kan ready. Ready to fight Yeerk. Ready to kill Yeerk."

Tek let out a battle cry in agreement.

It made me sad... I guess I'd been hoping someone wanted to ditch this plan as much as I did. No such luck here.

Tek stepped forward. "Tek has been slave. Hork Bajir have been slaves. But now we fight with Sydnee. Fight to save Hork Bajir."

"Save Andalites, stop Yeerks." Kan agreed. "Save Hork Bajir."

I wasn't sure it was that simple... after all, saving the Hork Bajir didn't seem very high on the Andalites to do list... but they were right about one thing. The Andalites had to survive to fight the Yeerks.

Kan stripped another piece of bark from the tree. "Good bark. Not many trees. Bark almost gone."

He was right. The few trees they had here were almost totally stripped of their bark. I guess in a few days it wouldn't matter...

He offered me some bark, but I shook my head. "No thanks... uh... I already ate..."

"Hey Sydnee!"

Georgia stood in the door, holding a bag.

"What is it?"

Georgia smiled and reached inside, pulling out a brand new bathing suit. "We got you this, since your old one is totally gross. There was black too, but purple is cuter."

I laughed. "No problem there. Purple is my favorite color."


	24. Chapter 24

Tomorrow is D-Day.

The house is quite today. The truth of tomorrow and what it means hangs over us. Sometimes someone will try to break the silence. They try to say something, anything... but the attempt fails.

I look at their faces and I see grim determination. They've all accepted their fates. That we are all going to die tomorrow...

Except me.

As the hours pass by like minutes, far too quickly, I want to scream.

Finally, I can't take anymore. I stand up and leave the house, I go out to the back yard and begin to morph.

"Where are you going?" Driss asked with some alarm in his voice.

{I need some air.} I replied.

"When will you be back?" He questioned... though I knew it wasn't what he meant.

He meant 'Are you going to run away'.

{Soon.} Maybe.

He tried to say something else, but I was already gone. High above his head.

As a falcon I soared through the summer sky, leaving the human world and it's problems behind.

I flew higher, faster, I cut through the wind at break neck speed.

Have I mentioned how amazing flying is?

I could have stayed up there forever...

I looked below... I could see the town. That tiny, backwater town that I'd live in for three years. I saw my neighborhood, I saw the park, I saw the smoldering remains of the woods that had been a sanctuary for almost a month.

If I focused hard enough, I could see my house...

I wondered if my parents were there now...

I hadn't saved them from the Yeerks. And now I never would. What would they think if they learned I was dead? That I'd died saving a bunch of aliens that I'd never even met before instead of them? For the slim chance that they may try to save humanity? Maybe? If they felt like it?

I thought about the future. The future I'd never have if I died. I'd never given much thought before about what I wanted to do when I grew up. What kind of person I wanted to be. And now I'd never know. I thought of all the things I'd never be able to do.

I'd never get to finish high-school and go to college. I'd never learn how to drive and get a real job. I'd never have a career and move out of my parents house. I'd never meet a super-cool guy to fall in love with or marry. I'd never have kids and be a parent. I'd never grow old and die in my bed.

When I went back... IF I went back, I would die in battle. It will be a brutal and bloody end.

I don't want to... I really don't... but I start to descend.

I land in a field. No one around for miles...

I demorph, I fall to my knees, and I cry.

I'm glad no one can see me now.

I cry and scream.

It's not fair! I'm just a kid! Why me! Why did this happen to me?

Is this some kind of joke? Some sick, twisted joke?

I want it to be a dream. I want to wake up in my bed at home and be happy and safe.

I don't want to go back to that house.

I don't want to die.

I push myself off the ground and start grabbing handfuls of dirt and grass and rocks and I start throwing them as hard as I can in any direction, still crying, still screaming...

And then, all too soon, I'm spent. All of my strength is gone and I fall back onto the ground. I'm tired. Too tired to scream or cry anymore...

I lay there for a long time...

I don't have to go back. I could leave. Leave and never go back.

I'm ashamed of my own thoughts... but that doesn't make them go away.

I'm just a kid. This shouldn't be my problem. I'm not strong, or smart, or special. It shouldn't be my responsibility.

It shouldn't be.

But it is.

In the end, there was a choice.

He a hero and fight to try save as many people as I can... or be a coward and run and try to save myself...

In the end, it was no choice at all.

It was dark by the time I flew back to the house.

"You're back." Inix sat on the back porch. There were some travel bags next to him, and Georgia was asleep on the porch swig.

I started to demorph. {I said I would be.}

He nodded. "I thought you would run."

{I almost did.}

He laughed. "You're very direct."

My human mouth fully formed. "I've never been very good at being subtle..."

The two of use were silent.

I cleared my throat. "What will you do?"

"Tonight, I will take Georgia and we will run." He looked up at the sky. "You'll be using my form, and it won't take long for them to figure out that I am a traitor... We will survive as long as we can."

"...my parents..." I whispered... my voice shaky. "If... if you live to see the end of the war... if you see my parents..."

"If I meet your parents, I will send them your love. I'll tell them you were brave."

Oh god, don't cry.

I smiled. "Thank you."

He stood and picked the semi-conscious Georgia up, taking her to the car. I grabbed one of the bags and helped him open the door to put her inside.

"..yynn ssyynn..." Georgia muttered something, trying to wake up enough to say it.

"What?"

She smiled and yawned. "Bye Sydnee... good luck."

Inix closed the door gently, then turned to me. "Good luck."

"You too."

They drove away that night. I had no idea what would happen to them now... I could only hope...

"Sydnee."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Kan Hashut had walked up next to me, I hadn't even noticed...

"Geez! Don't scare me like that!"

"I'm... I'm sorry... I-" He looked troubled... like he wanted to say something, but was trying to find the right words. Finally, he lifted his hands. "I... I've never liked Hork Bajir that much... as a host I mean. I still don't understand why Driss is so partial to them."

Okay...?

"I preferred them to the Gedd, of course, they were stronger and faster..."

Why in the world is he telling me this? WHAT is he telling me?

"...but then I took my first human host... it wasn't strong like the Hork Bajir, but it was the first body that ever felt like it could be mine."

This is getting uncomfortable.

"...but until that point, I'd only ever experienced the semi-conscious mind of the Gedd, or the limited mind of the Hork Bajir... the human mind, feelings, intelligence... they disturbed me greatly."

I guess he wanted to tell me why he was doing this... a little awkward though...

"My host was young, small... a child. She didn't understand me... how could she? She was afraid of me... she never knew how much I feared her."

That's new. "Why would you fear your host?"

"She made me doubt myself. She made me feel guilt. The penalties for sympathizing with hosts..."

I nodded. He didn't have to tell me.

"I was cruel to her often. I wanted her to hate me, so that I could hate her as well... I kept her at a distance in hopes to disregard her pain..." He stopped, looking at me. When I said nothing, he continued. "One day... one day I was on a mission... we were... we were searching for an Andalite that had supposedly been seen in the area..."

My stomach flipped. No. No, it couldn't...

"We found it... It was outnumbered, it's stalk eyes were damaged, it was bleeding heavily, and a Dracon Beam a few feet away."

NO. No WAY.

"I took my chance to take the Dracon Beam and fire... but I was hit. My... my host was injured. I didn't know how badly. I decided to run, to abandon my host..."

I felt sick, but I couldn't look away...

"The last thing I remembered going through my hosts mind... was wishing... wishing she could be home, with her parents, safe and happy... something that I had taken from her." He paused and looked away. "I was found and interrogated... but I learned... my host had not. My host was gone. I was blamed, naturally, and punished..." There was a bewildered tone to his voice. " ...but I soon learned that my host was more then just alive. My host was free. More so, my host could fight. And I knew she would. She would be afraid, she would doubt, she would cry, but she would fight."

I finally spoke. "Why did you join the Yeerk Peace Movement?"

"To apologize to my host... to... to do something, anything to make up for what I did..." He looked me in the eyes. "I'm sorry Sydnee."

"Are... are you serious?"

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

"You're seriously doing this now?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Dropping this bombshell on me!"

"...I'm sorry..."

I laughed out of frustration and disbelief, I covered my face in my hands and laughed. "Oh My God!"

"I'm-"

"YES." I snapped. "I get it! I got it the first time!"

I finally understood why he'd never introduced himself, why he'd seemed so strange around me.

It was Nisret. He was my Yeerk.

I looked up at him. The expression on the Hork Bajir face was unreadable to me... he wanted forgiveness...

My life was literally too short to spend on grudges.

I stood and took a deep breath. "I forgive you."

He smiled, but it looked pained... It was hard to know what could possibly be going through his mind...

"I'm going to bed..." I told him. "Big day tomorrow..."


	25. Chapter 25

We drove in separate cars.

The two Hork Bajir, as well as two of the other human hosts went first to pose as security, as well as the other members of the Peace Movement that were already there. An hour or so later, Floran, Driss, and I piled into a van.

I felt like I wanted to vomit.

"We're almost there. Morph now."

I looked to Floran and smiled. "See you on the other side."

{The other side of what?}

I laughed. "It's just an expression."

I morphed Yeerk, and within a few moments I was lifted up and I crawled inside Floran's ear.

I wrapped around his brain and practiced a few motions with his, now human, arms and legs. Getting the hang of it.

"Here we are." I heard Driss say. "It's showtime."

The doors opened up and I stepped out. The Sharing had recently bought this old building and were renovating it... at least that's how it appeared. But inside was their unlimite weapon. No one even gave us a second glance. And why should they? We're well known, well respected controllers, right? As far as they know...

We headed for the main doors...

{Floran?} I focused my thoughts to him.

{Yes? What is it?}

{I'm sorry, I just remembered that I never did take you back and buy you some more lemon squares.}

I felt his brain send out signals to his body, my Yeerk body intersected them, but if he had been able, I knew he would have laughed.

{It is unfortunate. Perhaps next time.}

{Sounds good to me.}

But we both knew the truth. I could see it in his thoughts.

We both knew there would be no next time.

Now inside the building, I could see controllers going about their business. I followed Driss, while trying to look like I WASN'T following Driss. Like we just happened to be going the same direction. I didn't see the others, perhaps they were already further in?

We went down a hall and found the room I'd been told about. There was a drop shaft here that lead down, and from there it was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from where they were keeping the device.

"You know..." I said. "I think this plan is actually going to work!"

Driss smirked. "What? Were you doubting my plan?"

I shook Floran's head. "No. Just you."

He punched me in the arm, laughing a little (Eli's doing maybe?). "We're almost there. Get ready to come out and demorph."

We went through the drop shaft. The Air sucking us down for what seemed like several minutes.

We landed below, I didn't see anyone. "How about now?" I asked.

He looked around... before nodding. "Yeah. We're almost to the teleport."

I released Floran's brain and crawled out of his head. Then, after being placed on the ground, I demorphed.

My eyes slowly formed, and I saw Floran as his old Andalite self. I smiled and-

{Well, well. If I hadn't seen it for myself... I wouldn't have believed it.}

Thought-speak! But it wasn't Floran, the voice was different!

I looked to Driss, I saw terror in Eli's face, then to Flo... and he was worse then Driss...

Suddenly, lights! The room was flooded with lights, and from every direction in stormed Hork Bajir, Taxxon, and human controllers! There were dozens of them! It was a small army! They pointed their weapons at us, and from the crowd came another alien... An Andalite.

He was different then Floran. His fur was a dark, almost metallic blue, and his face held held a sneer that made me feel small, insignificant, like I was nothing but a bug to be stepped on. He was larger then Floran. He wasn't huge, but his presence made it feel like he was a giant to me.

"Visser...!" I heard Driss whisper, the terror in his voice made it so much worse.

This was Visser Three...

He eyed Floran and Driss with his stalk eyes, but his main eyes were on me.

{The rumor is true. I had never thought that any Andalite could be so pathetically desperate as to share it's great morphing technology! Especially with a _child_!}

Some of his troops chuckled.

He turned his main eyes to Floran, keeping me in sight through one of his stalk-eyes. {Though... you are rather small for a _Warrior_ aren't you? I suppose the Andalites must be truly desperate, to allow runts like you into their army!}

They laughed this time, and the Visser looked pleased with himself. I looked to Floran, he was too terrified to be angry.

"H-how did you know!" I screamed suddenly, unable to control the fear in my voice. "How did you know we were coming?"

He didn't look back at me, his main eyes still fixed on Floran's terrified ones. {We intercepted your transmission to the Andalite home world. You see, the teleport was finished ahead of schedule, the invasion was meant to start yesterday.} He took a step closer to Floran. {But after hearing your call to your sister, I decided to set a trap. A trap for the escaped, supposedly, morph-capable host and the renegade Andalite whom Sub-Visser 19 _failed_ to capture.}

I heard a groan. I saw Sub-Visser 19, Quincy Reed, looking haggard. Beaten, broken. Barely held to his feet by some human controllers.

{No...!} I heard Floran whisper in horror. {What have you done to my sister?} He yelled.

The Visser laughed. {I have no idea what our allies may have done to her. Perhaps she'll be there to see the beginning of the destruction of the Andalite forces.}

"It's not over!" I screamed.

He laughed, it was a laughed that shook me to my core. {Oh, but it is, little human. It's OVER.} He turned to his guards. {Take them. Bring the human, bring the Andalite, and the traitor as well. Bring them with us. To bear witness to the greatest victory of the Yeerk Empire!}

I saw Floran and Driss grabbed by some Hork Bajir, just before I was, and we were dragged along after Visser Three.

As I was forced along, the truth finally sunk in. It WAS over. We had failed.

He could have started the invasion yesterday, but he didn't.

He would make us watch them as the killed and infested the unsuspecting Andalites. Then he was infest us. Floran and I would be controllers. Driss would be killed through Kandrona starvation, the Visser could make it last _weeks_. The others were probably all dead or captured. The Andalites would fall, the human race will fall.

In those terrible moments, I saw the future in front of me. And I was powerless to stop it.

He wanted us to see. He wanted us to watch. He wanted to break us.

And he would succeeded.

We entered a narrow room. There wasn't much room in there, not since over half of it was full of machinery... Dozens of consoles twisted and tied together, connected to a gate. It was large, large enough for a Hork Bajir to pass through easily.

The Visser took a step forward, a look a delight on his face. {I've waited _years_ for this!} He turned to one of the human scientists. {Start the machine!}

The three of them went to work, getting the machine running as quickly as possible.

I felt desperation surge through me, I pulled away from the controllers. "NO!"

In a flash, the Visser's tail-blade was against my throat. {Don't move.} He ordered. {It would be a shame for me to have to damage such a... 'unique' host.}

"You can't do this!" I whispered, my fear almost choking the words.

{I already have.} He turned his back to me, looking back at the teleport. {Keep hold of her. If you allow another outburst like that and I will kill the both of you.}

The two human controllers took hold of me again, forcing me to my knees.

The machine began to whirl and hiss. Was it almost ready? How much longer?

TSSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW!

The next thing I knew, I was on the floor. Over head, I saw Dracon beams flashing and firing in all directions. Someone was dragging me away.

"Sydnee!"

I looked up, dazed. "Dr-driss?"

He pulled me into cover, and I saw the battle.

Several humans and Hork Bajir were shooting each other.

{TRAITORS!} The Visser roared.

I saw the Taxxons... some were attacking the Yeerk Peace Movement... but most were feasting on the corpses that already littered the room and hall. Not even the Yeerks could control the Taxxon hunger.

There was so much confusion...

Where was Floran!

"Morph!"

I looked up at Driss. "What..?"

"Morph! You have to morph!"

Why? What was the point? There was no way we could win... "But I-"

"There's still a chance! Morph! DO IT NOW!" He ordered.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the Cougar in my mind.

Golden fur sprouted, teeth grew and sharpened, razor sharp claws.

I leaped forward to a Hork Bajir, he swiped at me with his blades, but I ducked and dug my teeth in his throat, ripping and tearing.

The battle was a blur of screams and bloodshed. The cougar's mind knew this was a matter of survival, it would fight to live no matter what! The human inside me screamed, it screamed but it never stopped fighting. It screamed in fear and rage.

No! No! NO!

I heard the machine let out a shudder, I saw a vortex form in the gate. Black and green energy twisted and swirled in the vortex!

{It's ready!} I cried.

I looked around the fight was still raging, but we couldn't last much longer-

"AAH!"

I turned, I saw a Hork Bajir get cut nearly in half by the Visser's tail...

It was Kan Hashut.

It was Nisret!

{NO!} I leaped at the Visser, dug my claws into his side.

THWAK! THWAK! THWAK! SLICE!

The Visser hit me several times with his tail, until I fell back, then he brought it down.

Pain! I fell back, I was hit and bleeding!

I could see Nisret, I saw the Hork Bajir smile... then die.

When a host dies... so does the Yeerk inside...

{Pathetic.} The Visser spat.

{I'LL KILL YOU!} I screamed, the cougar roaring in agreement.

{No.} He replied coldly. I saw his tail move, going for a killing strike-

SWOOP!

Something blocked the blade!

{You're right.} A familiar voice said, eerily calm. {She is not you're opponent. I am.}

Floran!

The Visser laughed. {You wish to tail-fight against me?} He laughed louder. {It's been many years since I've fought an Andalite is such close combat, though I doubt you will be much of a challenge.}

Suddenly his blade shot forward, faster then the human eye I could barely keep up!

Floran blocked, then went in for a hit, but the Visser blocked him! The Visser went in with three, quick strikes! All of them hit, but Floran managed to alter their course just fast enough to keep them from hitting something vital.

Then, in one terrible moment, I saw the Visser's tail raise high about his head, he brought it down, Floran went to block it-

But it suddenly stopped, changed direction, and swooped in!

It was headed straight for Floran's neck!

{NO!} I screamed.

Then, in a blink and you'll miss it moment, I saw Visser Three's tail-blade twitch. It changed it's course by a fraction of an inch! His tail hit Floran across the chest, but it missed the throat.

Why did he...?

Of course! His host! Visser Three's Andalite host! Had he intervened at the last second to save Floran?

It only lasted a second, but it was more then enough.

Floran began to strike wildly, pushing the Visser back.

{Sydnee.} I heard in private thought-speak.

{Floran!}

{Go.}

I pushed my injured body off the floor. {Wh-what!}

{Go through the portal. I cannot run from this fight. If I tried the Visser would strike me down. You must go through the portal.}

{What? No! I can't leave you behind!}

The fight between them went on, at the same time more reinforcements arrived to protect the Visser.

{The scientists are dead, as soon as you are through, Driss will destroy the gate.}

I couldn't! I couldn't leave Floran to die! {Floran!}

{Please Sydnee. Go. I don't know what forces will be waiting for you on the other side, but please. Go. Save my people.}

I saw something run passed me.

It was the Sub-Visser, he was running to the portal, he was trying to escape! I built up my strength and leaped!

Just before he entered the Portal, I tackled him. We both fell forward-

{Thank you, my friend.}


	26. Chapter 26

{Thank you, my friend.}

A flash of green light.

Blackness.

A void of black and green swirled all around me. It stretched on forever.

I felt as though I was being pulled along, at the same time as I stood perfectly still. Like my body was stretched out over billions and billions of miles in seconds.

I tried to scream, but the sound was so distorted I couldn't tell if it was really me at all.

Suddenly, light!

I hit the ground felt something snap underneath me. The Sub-Visser gasped. I looked up.

Three Andalites stood side by side, one was holding a smaller, female. All holding shredders. They had been standing at attention, but now went to fire-

I charged at the Andalite in the middle, his tail went forward to hit me, but I just grazed me. I snaped my huge paws and hit his head with all the strength I had. He crumpled.

{AAAH!}

I turned, the Andalite that held the female had been stabbed in the neck. She had taken the opportunity to cut his throat with her tail-blade. Her blade may have been smaller then a males, but it was still lethal.

The final Andalite shot, missed. I charged, it tried to hit me with it's tail-blade, it hit, but I bit down on it. Tearing his tail with my teeth.

He screamed in pain, then a flash as the female Andalite shot him with a shredder and he collapsed.

It was only the two of us now...

{Floran?} She asked, fearful, but hopeful.

I demorphed in front of her. I saw the hope fade from her face.

"No." I grabbed one of the fallen shredders, put it on the highest setting, and fired at the portal.

I shot dozens of shots, until nothing was left but melted and hissing metal.

"Syd—grrk!"

I looked back on the floor... Sub-Visser 19...

No, I saw a Yeerk on the floor trying to crawl away.

I stood over Quincy Reed, his own blood pouring out of the sides of his mouth...

"...It's... not... over..." His face was fearful, he knew he was finished. "...there's... still... Earth..."

"I know." I said, feeling hollow.

"...can't stop... can't win... Sydnn..."

He died.

The door opened and two Andalites ran in. One examined the room, saw the dead Andalites, saw the aliens.

{What in yaolin is going on here?} He demanded. His eyes shot to the female... Lanam... He went to her side... I saw a look of worry and affection, but only for a second. He turned to me. {Who are you? What are you doing here!}

I dropped the shredder. "I'm not your enemy. I'll tell you everything... I..."

I was so sick, I was so weak, I was so broken.

I fell to the floor. I heard sounds all around me... but passed out.


	27. Chapter 27

I don't want to open my eyes...

{Interesting anatomy.}

I don't want to wake up...

{Did you notice? The darker skin seems to be artificial. I don't think it's connected at all.}

I want to sleep. I want to sleep...

{No tail. What self respecting species doesn't have a tail?}

{No hooves either.}

{I wonder how it manages to keep it's balance...}

How am I suppose to sleep with all that noise!

Slowly, reluctantly, I opened my eyes. Above me were three Andalites. Two female, one male. They were examining me.

{It's awake!}

I sat up- bad idea. My head was pounding, I felt nauseous.

"Ooooh..."

{Are you in pain?} One of the females asked.

{I'm not sure what we could do for you...} Another said.

{Perhaps it is hungry? We have excellent grass-}

I was experiencing serious culture shock here. So many Andalites all in one place, all talking to me and each other, and even themselves. Making mental notes of observations they made about the strange alien they were examining...

{Enough.}

The three Andalites stopped immediately at the voice. It wasn't loud, but it's tone demanded respect.

It was the Andalite I'd seen earlier... He turned to the others. {Leave us. I must speak with the alien alone.}

The three left without hesitation.

He turned to me. {I am Sirem-Nabilin-Gralwan, I am the commanding officer in this sector.}

"I... uh... I'm Sydnee..."

{Lanam explained as much as she knew about what happened here today. I assume you can explain in further detail?}

I nodded. "Yeah... but... it's a really long story..."

I spent much of the next few hours explaining my story to Sirem. Well, at first I'd told him about the Yeerks plan, then I had to tell him about how I'd met Floran and how I could morph...

Then we both stood there in silence for a while...

{I see...}

"What... what happened to the Andalites...? The ones that were helping the Yeerks?

{The two that are still alive have been detained. I will be questioning the two of them shortly.}

"Do you think they were the only ones?"

{I find highly unlikely.}

"Do you think they'll tell you who else was in on it?"

His eyes were cold. {They will.}

The way he said it? I believed him.

{I'm afraid I will have to ask for your patience... these next few days will be difficult for all of us... If you need anything we will do all in our power to make you more comfortable.}

"Thanks... I guess..."

He was right. The next few days were tough.

I was shipped from one place to another and I explained my story several different times to several different people.

From what I'd heard, the Andalites that had worked with the Yeerks were all arrested, trialed, and punished in some way or another, depending on the severity of their betrayal.

The Andalite's were grateful. I guess. As much as the great Andalites could have been to a 'lesser species'. They were grateful, but that didn't stop them from covering it all up.

I guess I was bad for morale to know how close the enemy came to kicking down your back door.

Honestly? I didn't care.

For the next several months, I was a guest on the Andalite home world.

Not because they didn't want me gone. If they could have, I'm sure they would have been glad to get rid of me.

But Earth was still under Yeerk control... my home still wasn't safe...

I was allowed to stay with Lanam and her family. Not with her parents, but with Lanam and her mate, Sirem-Nabilin-Gralwan.

I called him Sir. He didn't like it, but I called him Sir anyway.

And soon another little member of their family.

They had a son. Floran-Nabilin-Solon.

The Andalite home world was beyond anything I had imagined.

There were a few cities left on the planet. The planet had many cities a long time ago, but the Andalites didn't like the claustrophobic setting the cities had. A few still stand, but mostly Andalites are spread out with land of their own in little colonies.

The grass was dark green and blue and red, and there were trees of totally different shapes and sizes with different colored leaves. Some were even pink.

Oh, by the way, I've said before that Andalites eat grass right?

Liquified grass is what an Andalite eats when it's too physically ill to eat on it's own. It was my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Seventeen different species of grass, in thirty grassy flavors. Yum.

The Andalite world has at least three suns. It's not hot though, they're far enough away for it not to be a problem. It also has four moons that you can see almost anytime in the day.

Andalites in the military are stuck up, but the civilians are actually very nice. Very curious too.

The scientists were very interested in me as well. After all, I was the first human they'd ever seen. They did several examinations of me, I let them do it, and they even tried making some 'artificial skin' for me to wear... since all I'd had was a bathing suit.

When I first showed up I was the talk of the town. They asked a bunch of questions that I couldn't answer. You know, the cover up and all.

{She is a guest in our home.} Sir would say. {She has come very far and deserves respect.}

He never said, but I think he was angry about the cover up. I know Lanam was.

She was angry that her world would never know... about her brothers struggles... about his sacrifice...

There was nothing I could say to her... Nothing at all.

During those long months, I heard almost nothing about the war, about my home.

I began to loose hope that I'd ever see it again...

And then, almost a year later, on a day that started like any other day, it happened.

**"Hey, Ax-man, Is it true the Andalite home world is watching all this? Can I wave to them? Hi, everyone! Howard Stern rules! Yaaaah!"**

A transmission came out, and the whole planet could see it.

"**Captain Asculan, we know that the Andalite fleet is devoted to the destruction of the Yeerk threat. And we know that you must be personally committed to that goal. Because of your devotion to duty it may almost seem a disappointment to reach your goal at long last, only to discover that your foe has essentially surrendered. Our victory could never have occurred without the support of our Andalite friends. I look forward to our two peaceful peoples working closely together, to forming a deep and abiding friendship. We have so much to learn from our Andalite brothers, just as we have already learned so much from the great Elfangor and his no less courageous and resourceful brother, Aximili."**

The Yeerks had surrendered. The Earth was saved...

But NOT by the Andalite fleet.

Earth was saved by five morph-capable kids and a single Andalite cadet.

I stumbled away from Lanam and Sir's scoop, their home, I fell to my knees and I cried.


	28. Chapter 28

Some of the Yeerk forces managed to escape, but the war was over. Even so, it was still a long time before I left the Andalite planet. Then, finally, after a year away, I was finally going home.

Lanam and little Floran saw us off. He wasn't talking yet, he was a shy little kid. But we all said our goodbyes. Sir was going to see me safely back to Earth, then return once his job was completed.

Lanam and Sir shared a private moment together, and then we were on a ship heading for Earth.

It was a long, boring, frustrating journey. It would take almost a year to get back to Earth.

But I was used to waiting by now.

A few months into the journey, we met another Andalite ship heading back from Earth. The two ships docked briefly and the crews and passengers mingled...

That's when I saw him.

Visser Three!

No- no it wasn't the Visser anymore. It was Alloran. Visser Three's Andalite host...

He was alive, he was free, and he was going home.

I was still staring at him when he spotted me, he looked more surprised to see me then I was to see him...

He looked at me... then gave me a tired smile, then a nod of thanks...

He started to walk away-

"W-wait!"

He stopped, and turned to look at me. {Yes?}

I wanted to ask him.

I wanted to ask him the questions that had been churning inside me for over a year.

I wanted to ask...

"I... I'm glad you're alive... that you're free."

I think he knew that it wasn't what I meant to say. {Thank you.}

He left with the ship...

"DAMMIT!" I felt like dirt. Lower then dirt. I'd waited so long to know the truth and I'd run away from my one and only chance to learn it.

{Are you alright?}

I turned to look, there was a young Andalite standing behind me... I hadn't even heard him coming. He must have been an Aristh or something.

"I... yeah... yeah I'm fine."

{You don't seem fine.}

I sighed. "You're right. I'm not fine."

{Why not?}

"I... I was in this... this battle... my friend, I- … I don't know what happened to them. I don't know, and now I never will. And if feels like it was all for nothing."

{Was it? You saved the Andalites, didn't you? If it weren't for you and the sacrifices you and your friends made, the Yeerks would have killed thousands. Is that nothing?}

"For all the good the Andalites did."

{The Andalites may not have saved Earth, but they will be necessary to keeping what's left of the Yeerk forces from gaining power again.}

I laughed. "For an Aristh, you seem to know a lot."

A ghost of a smile crossed his eyes. {You have no idea.}

I laughed bitterly. "So much for it being a secret..."

{So, you believe all of your friends died in that battle?}

I nodded. "There was no way they could have made it out..."

{Maybe, maybe not. If you're so sure that they died, why do you want to know what happened?}

I sighed. "Because they died and I didn't... because it should have been me. Because they sacrificed so much... And because Floran was my friend. And not knowing is the worst thing about it... I should have asked Alloran, but I chickened out. Now I'll never know."

{The truth may be painful.}

"It probably would be. But I should have done it anyway."

The Aristh was silent for a moment, then handed me something.

"What's this?" The thing he handed me was some kind of paper, covered with strange letters...

{Read it.}

"I can't. It's in a weird language I've never-"

Suddenly the words began to make sense. The letters did not change, but I could understand them.

_I have always considered myself to be a logical individual. I never believed in the fairy tales my mother had told me as a child. I only believed what I could see, what I could touch... but now, in my final moments, I have been given the chance to make my hirac delest._

_My ship has been destroyed, I have no way of knowing if these final thoughts will ever be heard. I do not know if it is real, perhaps I have gone mad from fear and the finality of death._

_Regardless..._

_My Name is Floran-Jakhal-Castouss, I am a Warrior, An Andalite, and this is my last statement._

"What is this?" I asked, scanning over the pages. "Where did you get this?"

I turned to face the Aristh... but he was gone. Like he'd never been there to begin with.

I looked down at the pages... could these really be...?

Only one way to know for sure.


	29. Chapter 29

_I have always considered myself to be a logical individual. I never believed in the fairy tales my mother had told me as a child. I only believed what I could see, what I could touch... but now, in my final moments, I have been given the chance to make my hirac delest._

_My ship has been destroyed, I have no way of knowing if these final thoughts will ever be heard. I do not know if it is real, perhaps I have gone mad from fear and the finality of death._

_Regardless..._

_My Name is Floran-Jakhal-Castouss, I am a Warrior, an Andalite, and this is my last statement._

_I come from a family of Warriors. All the males in my family joined the army and became great fighters for my people. My father was a Warrior who died in battle when I was a child, in this war. The war against the Yeerks._

_But, despite the history of my family and the legacy of my father, the life of a Warrior held no interest to me. My interests have always been in science. More specifically zoology, zoophysiology, zoosemiotics._

_When I was young, I was taken to another planet one with a broad variety of animal life. Thousands of species, all on a single planet! It was fascinating, even to my still developing mind. My own world, unfortunately, holds very few species in comparison._

_That one of of the reasons why the Escafil device was so appealing to me. The device allowed one to become another species! To experience it's natural instincts and behaviors first had! It is unfortunate that it is used as a weapon in this time of war._

_We are all taught how to morph at a young age. As Arisths we morph the kafit bird. It is one of the three species of birds on my planet. It was six wings, and a razor sharp beak it uses to hunt creatures in the tree tops. We all rather enjoyed it, me especially, unfortunately I could not do so often, as morphing for any recreational sense was against the rules, though most do so anyway._

_I am the only male in my family. It is expected of me to become a Warrior and fight for my people..._

_Although, I was never much of one to begin with._

_My teacher would call on us to practice tail-fighting. One by one he called us forward, the others performed with varying degrees of success..._

_{Floran.}_

_Then it was my turn._

_I felt my hearts sink as I stepped forward. No doubt this was to be another humiliating scene for me. I was the eldest Aristh in the group. Most of my friends my age had already become Warriors and left to fight in the war..._

_His tail lunged forward, I tried to block- but missed. If this had been a real battle, I would have been dead on the spot. He strikes at me several times, and I barely manage to keep up, until, finally he hits me with the dull side of his tail-blade._

_THWAK!_

_{Aristh Floran!} He snapped. {How do you expect to last one day out in battle if you can't even keep up with me?}_

_{I'm sorry.} It was all I could say._

_I heard the laughs of my fellow Arisths, I had long since become a subject of ridicule. I was trying... but still, I knew my mind was not meant for fighting. Somewhere inside me, I hoped my teacher would see me as a lost cause, and deny me from going to war... I prayed for it._

_{That's all for today.} He said tiredly. {Dismissed.}_

_I began the journey home, ignoring the taunts from the others._

_That's when I saw some movement in the grass._

_I trailed behind it carefully. It was a Garba lizard, they were very rare during this time of the year!_

_I watched it slink through the grass, very carefully. It's skin was shifting colors as it crawled, helping it bled in with the grass... unfortunately this caused it to have a tendency to be stepped on. However, they are a very resilient species. One of only two eyes turned upwards towards the sky, to watch for predators, the other turned forward to see where it was going. It had excellent maneuverability due to it's long, slender body and six legs, three on each side. It feasted on smaller insects and only emerged from it's hiding places during the hotter, more humid days of the year._

_Carefully, I laid my tail-blade into it's path, laying it flat on the ground. It climbed over it, but just before it could jump off, I lifted it off the ground. It nearly jumped away, but I managed to get a hold of it and acquired it._

_Then I put it back onto the ground._

_{If you showed such interest in your training as you did that creature, you would be a War-Prince by now.}_

_The harsh thought-speak made me cringe, I turned to face my instructor. {I-}_

_Suddenly, I saw his tail lunge forward, but not to me. It would slice the Garba in half! I didn't even realize I had blocked the blow until several second after doing it._

_{You're a strange boy Aristh Floran.} He said with a slight laugh. {You may be a Warrior yet, once you finally get your priorities straight.}_

_I looked down at his hoofs with my main eyes, my stalk-eyes bent low. {I am sorry.}_

_He took a step forward. {You know we are in a time of war.}_

_{Of course.} I replied. How could I ever forget?_

_{Then you know the dangers we all have to face. These are dangerous times Aristh, and you must face them like a soldier.}_

_I wanted to argue..._

_{Excuse me.} My hearts lifted at the familiar thought-speak. My elder sister Lanam! {I am here to see my brother, our mother wants him home.}_

_My instructor nodded. {On your way.}_

_I could feel his eyes on me as Lanam and I began the long walk home. Trying not to run, but feeling relief only when he was out of sight._

_{Are you alright?} Lanam asked, a harsh, worried tone to her thought-speak. {He was picking on you again, wasn't he?}_

_I didn't want to speak about it to her. I loved my sister, but I was still a young boy. {No.}_

_{You are a terrible liar.} She chastised, but the tone in her voice was now more jovial._

_{I am fine.} I insisted._

_Lanam placed her palm on my face. An Andalite kiss. I shrinked away. {Lanam! Please!} If anyone saw my sister kissing me I'd never hear the end of the teasing._

_She ran ahead, laughing at my embarrassment._

_My sister Lanam is the only one who knows me, or even cares to know at all. And even that I am about to loose. She is nearly marrying age. Soon she be expected to find a mate, she already was working with the other scientists, soon she would move to one of the cities and leave our scoop altogether._

_I followed after her, she was much faster then I was but soon I caught up to her and when we were both too tired to run, we walked side by side again._

_{Mother told me that you may be leaving us soon.}_

_I slumped. She had to remind me. {It is possible...}_

_{I'm sure you will be fine.} She chimed. {You're still an Aristh, so even if they make you go, you probably wont see any battles.}_

_Somehow, that did not make me feel any better. {Mother will be happy that I'm going.}_

_My sister remained silent at that. She and mother were often at odds with one another. I knew Lanam was looking forward to leaving._

_{You may get to see some interesting alien species!} She added brightly._

_That did make me smile. Though I wouldn't be allowed to examine them, I could always morph them later and experience it all for myself..._

_I could see my scoop sitting in between the river and the trees that circled most of our land._

_{I think a storm is coming.} I said, looking up at the sky._

_{We should hurry inside then.}_

_That was when I saw it, a ship coming towards our scoop. It landed close by and from it stepped an Andalite Warrior._

_{Sirem!} I heard Lanam whisper excitedly._

_Sirem-Nabilin-Gralwan was a Warrior who remained on the home world in case of threats. From what I heard, he'd been recently promoted. His father and our father had been close when they fought in the war and even after my father was killed in battle his family still kept in touch with us. Lanam fancied him, which I think it strange, considering how much older he is to her, though she would get defensive when I mentioned it._

_Lanam walked towards the scoop, a little faster paced them before... but upon seeing the grave look on Sirem's face slowed to a crawl._

_He turned upon seeing the two of us arriving, his expression became unreadable. {Hello Lanam.} He gave her a nod, then upon seeing my mother greeted her curiously_

_My mother stepped forward. {To what do we owe this visit Sirem?}_

_{I have orders. I decided to deliver the orders personally.} He turned to me... {Floran-Jakhal-Castouss... you have been awarded the rank of Warrior. You are to come with me. You're leaving on the next dome ship.}_

_My world shattered in that instant... I had a an hour to say goodbye and pack anything I may need... but then it was time to leave._

_My mother placed her palm on my cheek. {I know you will do well. Your father will be very proud.}_

_I couldn't respond... I felt sick._

_Lanam had run inside the scoop, I went to see her one last time..._

_{Lanam?}_

_I expected her to be seriously distraught... but instead she held a sack. {I have a gift for you.}_

_She ushered me inside. I felt a little awkward in the small space. Lanam opened the sack... inside was a blue box. It was about four inches long on all sides and bright blue._

_{Where did you get this?} I asked in wonder._

_She smiled. {It's from the laboratory, they'll never miss it. I've been wanting to give it to you for a while now... this seemed like the right time. I know how much you wanted to see one again.}_

_{You're giving it to me?}_

_She smiled. {It will give you something to examine during your time in space. Just try not to let anyone see it.} She closed the pack and gave it to me. She took my hand in hers. {Be careful Floran, come back to us safely.}_

_{I will.} I gave my sister my word... not knowing then that I would not be able to keep it._

_I left my mother and my sister behind. Sirem and I walked to his ship in silence. I followed him inside, gave one last look at my mother, my sister, my home, then the doors closed..._

_{You...} Sirem started to speak, but stopped. He seemed to have trouble finding the right words._

_{...do... do you know where I am going?} I asked, trying to break the silence._

_He nodded. {Yes. We believe the Yeerks have targeted another species to infest. We're sending a dome ship to the planet.}_

_It was disheartening news. The Yeerks already allied with the Taxxons and almost completely conquered the Hork Bajir, and now some other race would be taken unless we could stop them..._

_{You'll be fine.} Sirem said at last, he sounded cheerful, though I believed it to be a fake bravado. {I hear Elfangor will be on the dome ship.}_

_That did brighten my spirits. {War-Prince Elfangor?}_

_Sirem nodded. {Indeed.}_

_Elfangor was a great hero to my people. He'd fought and won many victories over the Yeerks._

_{Just do your duty... and keep your head down.} Sirem added. {Help in any way you can, but don't feel like you have to run into battle tail first.}_

_Sirem and I were not so close, but he was always very kind towards me. I think he saw my reluctance._

_It was a long, mostly silent journey. Though I wish it had been longer._

_We landed and I was escorted to the dome ship. Several Warriors were already boarding._

_{Go on then Warrior Floran-Jakhal-Castouss.} He raised his tail and I instinctively raised mine as well our tail-blades touched in a salute. {Fight bravely and honorably.}_

_{Thank you.}_

_I followed the group of Warrior onto the dome ship. And soon the ship lifted off._

_I saw rise from the city. We rose and I saw, beyond it, the rolling hills full of grass of different colors, stretching for miles. We rose further still. In moments I was no longer looking at the familiar Andalite sky, but into the vastness of space. My eyes looked back to the planet, which was mostly covered in land with a few large bodies of water..._

_We had only just departed, and already I was homesick._

_The journey to the planet was a long and uneventful one. I spent most of my time trying to stay as quiet as possible, to not get in the way of the others or draw attention to myself._

_I decided to learn more of the planet to which we were headed. We'd learned a little in school... though very little was documented._

_It was the third planet in the solar system. It was mostly covered in water. The most intelligent species on the planet called themselves 'Humans', and they had named the planet 'Earth'._

_The more I learned about the planet, the more excited I became. It seemed as though this planet had many species of animals, perhaps millions. What kind of planet could sustain millions of animals? What did they look like? How did they eat? Perhaps most of them were water based creatures, considering the vastness of the oceans on the planet._

_Perhaps this trip would not be so terrible after all._

_Needless to say, I was wrong._

_When we exited Zero-Space, the Yeerk mother ship was waiting for us. All fighters were ordered to launch. At least ten of the enemies Bug Fighters charged towards us and we opened fire on one another. I fired my ships shedders, a few successful hits, but then two came up on me from behind! I could have been dead if another ship had not noticed at gave me support to out maneuver the Bug Fighters and they went down! At first I thought we had a chance... but then that hope died._

_A Blade Ship emerged. The blade ship of a Visser. It had been hidden in one holes of the planets moon. The large dome was separated from the ship and fell towards the planet._

_They tried to fight back, but the blade ship was too fast, too powerful, and the entirety of the Andalite fleet, over one hundred Andalites, were massacred in that one moment._

_Our Prince was no where to be found. The others that still lived charged into battle. It was a hopeless effort, but they did their duty as Andalite Warriors. As soldiers._

_Outnumbered, overpowered, I committed a great betrayal to my people..._

_I ran away._

_I ran from battle..._

_I ran..._

_I managed to escape, my fighter retained little damage from the battle. I landed it on the planet below, but I was sure it wouldn't be long until they came for me. My ships cloaking mechanism was still operational. I hid in my ship for, what must have been days, until I was sure they were no longer searching for me..._

_But now I faced another problem._

_The fleet was destroyed, I was alone. I had no idea how long it would take for reinforcements to come..._

_I took a step out onto the planet. It was very different from my home, very strange._

_As I stood, alone on the face of that strange new planet, I felt despair._

_I was a failure. I couldn't even die with honor. What kind of Warrior runs while his comrades are dieing all around him._

_I was a weak, stupid, stubborn child._

_And I was alone..._


	30. Chapter 30

_I was alone. But soon I realized I could not afford to lie in wait for the Yeerks to take me... and I would not take my own life out of shame. I wanted to live. And in order to live, I needed to learn about my new surroundings. Adapt. Overcome._

_Like a soldier._

_I took my first real steps into the world._

_Slowly, as I walked through the forest, I began to see the wonder in this place._

_In these woods alone were possibly hundreds of different species. I spotted many, none like any I'd ever seen on my home world. I was so enthralled, I hardly noticed the human camp until I stumbled, quite literally into it._

_I was alerted when I stepped on something metallic. A cylinder about 5 inches long, it and several others like it were strewn about the forest floor. I noticed some type of clothe or tarp. There were two of them, it appeared to be some sort of temporary dwelling._

_I heard a strange sound, that's when I noticed it. A human was asleep and wrapped, as if cocooned, inside one temporary homes. I believed it to be a male. He appeared to be breathing through his open mouth and every time he breathed in, that noise erupted from his mouth and throat._

_I was fascinated._

_I reached out, carefully, then touched his bare arm, acquiring his DNA._

_"GRRRR!"_

_I heard a growl. And my stalk-eyes spotted movement._

_A four legged beast arose from it's sleep. It had only two eyes, it's ears at the top of it's head were flat against it's skull, it's lips pulled back revealing sharp pointed teeth._

_I did not move. I knew this creature, despite it's ferocity, was no match for an Andalite's tail-blade. But I was never a good fighter..._

_I noticed something on the ground by my hooves, it appeared to be some sort of bone. It sickened me, but I picked it up. The creature seemed to react to the bone... I tossed it over to the beast and it gave chase, happily gnawing on it._

_The creature was a carnivore, probably territorial. It recognized the bone as it's property and was threatened by my presence. But now it appeared to be appeased._

_I touched the beasts fur to acquire it, ready to strike with my tail if need be, but it wasn't necessary._

_I decided to leave before the human awoke._

_I felt proud. I had managed to find a human morph, it would make blending in on the planet such simpler._

_I came to a clearing by a river and decided to morph human._

_The changes began slowly._

_Morphing is disturbing. To behold as well as endure. However it is absolutely fascinating._

_The first thing, to my horror, to change; was my tail. It shrunk, shriveled, then disappeared completely. I pushed through my discomfort. I had to try this new morph._

_My fur was replaced by bare, naked skin, my stalk-eyes vanished! I was half blind! I could only see forward!_

_After a few more minutes I was fully human._

_I tried to turn around to see behind me, only to fall. Humans have no tails, it was strange to attempt to keep balanced without one. I regained my composure, then took a step towards the water-_

_"AAH!" A pained noise erupted from my human mouth._

_Human's do not have hooves, or any natural protection against sharp rocks. A breeze made my body shiver. I was very cold. Human's had no fur, except in patches, such as on the head. It was quite baffling. What type of creature was so fragile? It appeared to have no natural defenses, and was easily hurt._

_It made them all the more interesting. They appeared to be so physically weak, yet they were somehow the dominant, most intelligent species on the planet? I wondered what their secret was._

_"Freddie?"_

_I heard a voice, I carefully turned by body to the side to see._

_Another human was walking this way!_

_"Dude! What the hell are you doing out here? And where are your clothes? I knew we said we wanted to 'enjoy nature' and all that crap, but this is a little extreme."_

_I didn't understand what he was saying. All Andalites have a translator chip implanted in their heads to automatically translate alien languages, but it needed more of a sample._

_I said nothing as he came closer. "Are you high?"_

_The translator was working, but still not entirely finished. I ventured the chance to speak in what little it had already interpreted._

_"Hello." I said at last, with my human mouth. It was so strange! To speak with your mouth! I opened it as wide as it could go, moving the tongue, touching the hard little protrusions, teeth. "lllll... llooooo. Heeeeeh-looooo."_

_He suddenly opened his mouth and a another strange sound erupted. It was a human laugh._

_"Geez man, what are you on and where can I get some?"_

_There, the translator was finished._

_"Hello." I repeated._

_The human's face squinted, he tilted his head to the side slightly. "Are you okay man? Did you hit your head or something?"_

_"No. I am fine."_

_The human did not accept my reassurance. He grabbed my head in his hands and took the time to examine my head._

_I was very uncomfortable by this, an Andalite would never do this to another Andalite, but I was more fascinated by another discovery! The head moved, humans only have two eyes! So they required the action of turning their heads to see their surroundings. It was so obvious!_

_"You look okay... maybe we should get you to a hospital."_

_"No, I am fine. I was merely getting a drink."_

_The other human gave me a strange stare. "Naked."_

_I took a moment to examine the other human. He was covered in freely flowing, brightly colored skin... he also had strange dark hooves..._

_Perhaps these were not real skin? The dark hooves would protect the fragile human feet, and the skin perhaps protected them from the cold? They didn't need natural defenses! They found ways to make up for the things they lacked! No hooves? Make ones. No fur? Cover yourself with artificially made skin._

_I think I was beginning to like these creatures... as strange as they were, they seemed very resourceful._

_The human was still staring at me... "I was going to enjoy the river as well. Thhh theeee rrriveerrrr."_

_"Isn't a little cold for that?" He questioned._

_"I understand your concern, but as you can see, I am fine. Ine. Ffff."_

_He bobbed his head, looking disturbed. "I guess... are you sure nothing's wrong?"_

_"Yes. Sssss. Yeh, yeh."_

_"Then maybe we should head back to camp..."_

_Camp? ….Oh! This human must be talking about the temporary dwelling with the other sleeping human. He must believe that I am him._

_Well, why wouldn't he._

_I nodded, a gesture that the human had just used. Tilting the head slightly upwards, then down.. "Yes. Ssss-uh. I will meet you at the camp. Amm-pah."_

_"What? You're not coming?"_

_"I will be there soon. Oooo. Oooo-nah."_

_"Cut that out!" He snapped._

_"Cut what out?" Did he want me to cut something? I had no tail to cut with..._

_"That thing you're doing. With your mouth."_

_"What thing? Innn-gah."_

_He pointed at my face. "That! Stop making noises like that! You sound like a moron!"_

_Oh. "I'm sorry. I will meet you at camp." I forced myself not to play with the words. If I were to blend in, I would have to overcome this temptation._

_He nodded and walked away... every once in a while turning his head around to look back at me._

_Incredible. He had no trouble walking without a tail._

_If I were to use this morph, I would need to acquire some artificial skin and hooves. It seems that the lack of them would attract unwanted attention._

_I decided to demorph for now._

_It felt good to have my tail again._

_I stepped into the river, taking a drink. It was very refreshing. I would need to remember this place._

_I spent many of the next weeks learning the forest and acquiring morphs. Despite the danger I was enthralled by the wildlife._

_Around that time... I remembered having a dream..._

_A dream of the ocean... of someone calling..._

_But, no, it was impossible. It was only wishful thinking on my part, along with the loneliness that had begun to become overwhelming. No one could have survived._

_No one._

_And even if they had... a failure like me... a coward... a..._

_It was just a dream..._

_Finally, I had managed to stun a bird and acquired it. Now I would get a better view of my surroundings._

_I became a hawk._

_Another creature with only two eyes that could only point forward, however these eyes were excellent! I could see everything very clearly, it almost made up for loosing a set of eyes... almost._

_This creature was a predator, it's main concerns were food. Food and survival. Physically, it was very different from the Kafit bird... not as interesting as the human morph though. The bird had sharp talons and a beak for hunting and killing it's prey. I saw a small brown creature burrow into the ground... the hawk was very interested in it, perhaps that was what it ate._

_But I had my own interests._

_I lifted of the ground, flapping my wings, I soared into the air, above the tree tops._

_As I went higher I could see my new setting clearly._

_There was the large forest, in which I was hiding, but close by there was a human settlement._

_I decided to go and see it for myself._

_There were several large, rectangular structures along black, smooth earth. Along those black stretches of earth rode metal transports. They did not fly, they were land based transports. Humans traveled around inside them along the black earth._

_I noticed other birds sitting on cords strung together between tall, thin monuments. The cords seemed to connect and intertwine, spreading out to all the rectangular structures. I landed on them and observed the humans._

_There were so many of them in one place! They walked in several different directions by the black earth, wearing artificial skins and hooves of different shades and colors! All humans had a similar structure. Two legs, two arms, two eyes, a mouth. But they all looked different. Different color fur on their heads, yellow, black, brown, red, some with no hair at all. And their skins were sometimes different, some had darker or lighter skin. There were so many factors that differentiated them from one another._

_They all lived together in this colony._

_I also saw more of the four legged animals I'd seen with the humans in the woods. It appeared to have been domesticated by the humans and was a pet._

_I saw some of them enter one of the rectangular structures... they were hollow!_

_I hypothesized that these structures were like an Andalite's scoop... except these were much bigger and humans seemed to spend much of their time inside these rectangular scoops. Humans seemed to not have any trouble with enclosed spaces._

_I could have watched for hours, but I was approaching two hours and I did not need to be trapped in morph, that would only add more disgrace to my situation._

_But I would return. Several times in fact. I learned much of human culture by watching their interactions with one another. I also confiscated several items from the colony and took them back to my ship to examine them. Including some artificial skins._

_My main concern was analyzing and adapting. I would survive until my people arrived..._

_But as months began to pass... I began to wonder how long it might take..._

_My people would not simply give up... Of course not! They would come!_

_Perhaps Z-Space had shifted again. Perhaps it was taking them a long time to travel here..._

_Yes. Of course. They would come._

_I thought of my sister and my mother... as I did often. They must think that I was dead..._

_It broke my hearts to think of them in mourning for me..._

_But I would see them again. After the Andalites saved this planet._

_One night, while trying to sleep, I heard voices calling out in the night. I spotted several lights in the distance. I hid in my ship and waited. Where they controllers? Had they discovered me? But I'd been so careful!_

_"Lindaaa!"_

_Several adult humans, male and female, were searching through the woods for something, shouting Linda. I morphed human and slipped on the artificial skins, no hooves. I slipped out when the field was clear then ran after the humans._

_"Linda! Where are you!"_

_I followed along silently, mearly watching, for now._

_"I can't see a damn thing!" One of the males said to me._

_I nodded. "Yes. It is too dark for us to find what we are looking for."_

_He shook his head, left then right. "What kind of idiot lets a little girl run off on her own, how are we suppose to find her like this?"_

_"A little girl? Linda?"_

_He stopped and stared at me. "Yes." He seemed to be suspicious._

_Oh, I see now. A child was missing, lost in the forest. These were not controllers hunting Andalites. They were searching for the lost child._

_"Where was the child last seen?" I asked him._

_He motioned with his hands in a direction past my ship. "She was by the camping grounds. Apparently she was playing by the river then they realized she was missing a few hours ago."_

_"I see." I headed in that direction._

_"Where are you going?" He demanded._

_"I will be back." Was all I replied as I headed back to my ship._

_Humans may be resourceful, but they are ill equipped to search through these woods. I would find the child and bring it back. As long as they were searching the woods, it meant the possibility of them stumbling onto my ship._

_I decided to morph into the four legged animal. I could find her as the bird, but a human child was more likely to trust the domesticated animal._

_My eyes were not as good as the hawk's would have been, but the sense of smell was far superior, and the ears were excellent._

_I sniffed, I smelt several humans all around me. I headed to the 'camping ground'._

_A string of temporary houses were laid out in fairly close proximity to one another._

_I saw some humans. One particularly distraught woman appeared to be holding an artificial skin while being comforted by a few other females._

_"I should have been watching her! I should have never left her alone!"_

_"It's going to be okay! They'll find her!" Another female assured her._

_I stepped forward, and the female jerked in surprise. I sniffed the artificial skin, it's scent was different then the female's. It appeared to be too small for the female to wear... perhaps the child's?_

_"What in the world?"_

_"Where'd the dog come from?"_

_I sniffed the air... Yes. I could smell it._

_I followed the scent towards the river... as I got closer it faded. If she had gone into the water I wouldn't be able to find her..._

_She hadn't. I followed the stream then away from it. I ran a few Earth miles down through the dense trees and vegetation._

_That's when I heard it._

_I followed the sound and scent, and found a small female child. She was crying, it was when water leaked from the human eyes. It was a way of showing great sadness or distress._

_Upon seeing me, she seemed afraid, and began to cry more erratically._

_This was unfortunate... I didn't have much time to waste..._

_{Don't be scared.}_

_The little girl stopped crying, her eyes went wide with wonder._

_{I will take you home. Do not be scared.}_

_Slowly, she reached out her tiny hand to me and I let her pet my head._

_"Are you magic?" She asked._

_{No... I...} She stared at me expectantly. {Y-yes. I am magic. And if you promise to keep me a secret, I will take you back to your mother. Can you keep a secret?}_

_"Yeah!" She smiled, the action of the corners of the mouth rising up. "I promise!"_

_{Follow me.}_

_She shook her head and started to cry again. "My foot..."_

_Her leg appeared to be injured. She could not walk._

_{Wait here, I will find someone to...}_

_"No!" Tears streamed down her face one more. "Please don't leave me! I'm scared!"_

_I could not leave her alone. She could not walk... there had to be another solution..._

_She was not very big..._

_{Can you climb on my back?}_

_She sniffed. "Maybe..."_

_I got close and she climbed over and laid on my back, her tiny hands gripping around my neck._

_{Hang on to me tightly.}_

_"Okay."_

_I headed back towards the camping sight, being careful not to go too quickly. Though I kept a steady pace. I would soon need to demorph._

_I entered the camp ground and upon being spotted, several humans ran to be. Shouting and cheering._

_The female ran forward, lifting the girl from my back._

_"Linda! Thank god!"_

_As the woman left with the child I saw her smile and wave at me._

_I tried to sneak away, but then some humans began to pet and examine me._

_"The dog brought her back?"_

_"It's like something out of a movie!"_

_Someone pet my head. "Good boy! Good boy!"_

_I felt a wave of happiness, my tail began to shake back and forth. Yes! Yes I was a good boy!_

_"Where did he come from?"_

_One of the humans knelt down, he examined my head and neck, then leaned in then whispered. "What a pathetic display Andalite."_

_A controller! This man was a controller! He knew that I was an Andalite? Or... maybe he didn't know. Maybe he was just guessing?_

_I played the part of the dog._

_"What should we do with him?" I heard someone ask._

_The Controller smiled. "He looks like he's a stray. I'll take him to an animal shelter."_

_This was not good, he reached out to grab me!_

_"Rex!"_

_Suddenly someone was beside me, scratching behind my ears. It felt very good, almost enough for me to forget about the controller..._

_The controller frowned. "Rex? Henry, this is your dog?"_

_The man named Henry nodded. "Yeah, that's right. He must have slipped off the leash." The man tied something around my neck._

_The controller looked at me, then the man, he smiled. "That's a great dog you've got there!"_

_Henry smiled back. "I know! Dogs are really amazing animals. It's lucky he found the little girl!"_

_The controller nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, it is."_

_"Well, we've got to get going."_

_The man pulled me along with the leash. I couldn't try to run or the controller would suspect._

_But who was this person? Why did they help me? What was going on? I was almost at the two hour mark. I HAD to demorph!_

_I sniffed the air... but there was nothing. The man had no scent! It wasn't possible._

_We were away from the other humans, I was about to try to escape, but the man stopped and untied me._

_He winked at me. "So long, 'Rex'."_

_And then he just walked away..._

_I had no time to pursue this, I had to demorph._

_I reached my ship in time. And soon the search was called off and all the humans were gone._

_It had been a close call... but the controller had been fooled, the child was safe, and my ship would be secure..._

_For a little while longer._


	31. Chapter 31

_Hope is a strange thing. Sometimes it can seem so strong, but can shatter in an instant._

_This was not one of those times._

_I held out hope that my fellow Andalites would come and rescue me, but as more and more time went by, my hope was slowly chipped away by the hours, days, months._

_I had been on Earth for over one human year, and nothing. There was no sign of them._

_On top of my withering optimism, was the loneliness._

_I was surrounded by life, yet I was alone._

_The controller proved that there was a Yeerk Pool in the area, so I had to remain vigilant._

_But still, I longed to see and speak to my fellow Andalites again. And the fear that I may never again was constant, consuming._

_I did try to find controllers in the area, perhaps find the entrance to the Yeerk Pool, but I found nothing. I was an outsider looking in, and to me everything the humans did was strange, so I could not derive which behavior was because a human was a controller or because they were simply how humans were._

_I passed my time by making excursions into the wood, and the town (In morph, naturally), as well as examining and morphing the animals I found._

_One day in particular I had spent trying to catch a fish._

_I tried to catch it several times as a bird. But every time I would fall in the water and my feathers would be soaked and I'd have to demorph. It seemed by bird was not suitable for catching fish._

_I thought I'd heard something. My stalk eyes caught some movement in the trees... but there was nothing there now. I assumed it to be an animal passing by._

_I seemed to be becoming more and more paranoid._

_I had hoped to catch the fish, acquire it, then morph it, but to no avail. In the end I had wound up miles from my ship and it was getting dark._

_I was a long, trudging walk back to my ship. It looked like there would be rain..._

_That's when I spotted them. Humans, several of them. I wasn't worried, until I saw they were carrying weapons. Dracon Beams!_

_They were controllers!_

_One of them spotted me and opened fire. "Andalite!"_

_I ran._

_There were many of them, but I was faster. I needed to get back to my ship! Everywhere I turned I saw more and more controllers! And not just humans..._

_Down from the tree tops, Hork Bajir! Three of them! They surrounded me, slashing at me with their blades. I had never fought a Hork Bajir! I'd never battled face to face..._

_The Hork Bajir laughed. "No where to run Andalite scum!"_

_He lunged!_

_My tail shot out, lodging itself into the controllers throat._

_I pulled back and hit him again, and again, and again. I had no plan, I was overwhelmed by terror. I whipped my tail around wildly! They hit me! One of my stalk-eyes was damaged, my stomach slashed, I was bleeding. But I didn't feel any of that. I only felt the terror of my first battle, the panicked need to survive._

_The last Hork Bajir fell and I stood there, gasping and trembling. I only now realized that it was raining. Mt fur was soaked and the water ran in my eyes._

_"No..."_

_I jerked back, faced the pitiful sound, I arched my tail to strike-_

_A human, a child._

_A controller._

_For a moment I was stunned by it. A small human female lay in the mud of the forest floor. Trembling. It made no sense to me. Why would the Yeerks take such a powerless host?_

_She looked up at me then pointed. "Th-there! It's getting away!"_

_I looked with my undamaged stalk-eye, in the mud I saw something squirming, crawling away. Was it a Yeerk!_

_I went after it, intending to destroy it, but I lost it in the dark and the rain..._

_I saw the human controller stand, nearly collapsing, then run. It was clumsy and slow as it trudged through the mud._

_I went after it, easily catching up to it. I placed my tail-blade against her throat. {Do not run.} I ordered._

_The human began to tremble, terrified eyes looked up to me._

_I thought I'd seen a Yeerk... could that mean it had abandoned it's host? Was this human free? Could I kill it? It would be safer for me that way..._

_{Do not run.} I repeated. {Or I will kill you.} I was shocked how calm I sounded._

_"O-okay! Okay I wont run! Please don't kill me! I'm just a kid!" It started to cry. "Please don't kill me!"_

_It was very convincing... but was it real?_

_One quick, well placed strike with my tail-blade would be all it took..._

_I looked around the woods, I recognized the location, then pointed in the direction of my ship. {Move, quickly.}_

_I forced her to walk, we found my ship and went inside._

_She collapsed and I went to the ships computers. The ship was invisible to anyone on the outside, now all I could do was pray. Though I was fairly certain they did not have the technology capable to find the ship. If they did they would have discovered it by now._

_I heard gasping. The human appeared to be panicked, it was looking at the screen showing the outside._

_{The ship has been hidden, these forces do not have the means to track this ship. They will not find us.} I kept one of my stalk-eyes on it, in case it tried something._

_My words seemed to have an affect on it, but I was too busy to care..._

_After a few hours they seemed to finally disperse._

_That's when I noticed the human wasn't moving... was it dead?_

_I took a step forward, ready to attack if it should be trying to lull me into some kind of false sense of security... But it wasn't. It wasn't dead either. It took slow, shallow breaths. It had fainted._

_I noticed something red. Pulling back a layer of artificial skin I saw another layer soaked in red blood._

_Red blood. It made me feel queasy... but I suppose any blood would have done that._

_I examined the cut... It was from a tail-blade. Mine. I must have hit her during the fight. She was very lucky not to be dead._

_I don't know much about human anatomy, but the cut appeared not to be very deep and I applied some basic first aid to stop the bleeding..._

_The human did not wake._

_I realized immediately the problem I had now._

_This human was possibly a controller, willing or not, I couldn't be sure. Even if it was freed now, what could I do with it? I couldn't set it free. Now that I'd taken it this far I had only two choices..._

_To keep it prisoner or kill it..._

_I felt ill at the thought of it. I didn't enjoy killing at all. But this was not like a Hork Bajir. It was small and weak. It was defenseless against me._

_You may think me a fool, but I could not bring myself to kill it._

_I had no idea that this small, weak human would become not only an ally to me, but a friend._

_Is it strange to call her that? Perhaps, but it's true._

_Her name was Sydnee and she is my shorm..._

The words blurred on the page as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

Shorm. It was the literal word for tail-blade, but it is also used to describe a person's best friend... someone you could trust above all others.

I had no idea he had felt that way... he'd never said. He never said anything.

{Sydnee.}

I turned around. Sir.

{Are you ill?} He asked, he noticed the pages. {What is that?}

"It's... Floran's..." I choked out.

He squinted at the pages, unsure. {What do you mean?}

I stood, trying to look stronger then I felt. "It's Floran's Hirac Delest."

{What! How is that possible!}

I shrugged. "I don't know... there was this Aristh, he gave it to me."

Sir gave me a solemn look. {There are no Arisths on this ship.}

I shook my head. "But it's true! I'm not lying!"

He stared at me for a moment. {Yes. I believe you.}

I looked down at the pages in my hands. "So... so they're really here? I'm not crazy?"

{Not unless we both are sharing the same dilutions.} He took a step forward. {Have you finished it?}

"No... not yet." He was silent, I tried to force back the tears forming in my eyes. "I'm... I'm scared... to see how it ends..."

{You don't have to read it.} He pointed out.

"Yes I do."

I could tell he approved, then took a step forward to stand beside me. I took his hand. I think it freaked him out a little. Andalites don't really touch one another, they rarely use their arms at all... but I think he understood that I needed it...

I looked down at the pages and read on... His story... our story...


	32. Chapter 32

_If this human was, indeed a controller, the Yeerk was a very good actor._

_"You don't understand! I have to get to my parents! If the Yeerks get them I- I-"_

_I stayed firm. {That is not possible.}_

_It screamed. "You can't keep me here!"_

_I prepared myself in case she resisted. I was sure I could strike her in a way that would not kill her. {I can. I shall.}_

_"Why! What do you want?"_

_I don't want to have to kill you._

_I thought it over, I needed a good excuse.{You are, or perhaps were, a controller. Once I am sure you are not being controlled, you will tell me everything you know about the Yeerks and their operations in this area.} Yes, that was good. And it might even be helpful._

_"Listen, please, if my parents make a scene, if they start asking questions the Yeerks might take them! I- I can't let them be taken! I can't!"_

_Her tears, her shaking, her voice. It all seemed so genuine... If it was true.. but, no. I couldn't risk it._

_Show no emotion. Show no weakness. I am a soldier._

_{That may be, but I still cannot allow you to leave.}_

_She stared at me, her eyes darted to my tail, then the door, then me again. But she sat back down on the floor. She knew she couldn't overpower me._

_I stayed at the computer for hours, keeping her in my sights._

_She kept looking at me... me and the door. She was biting the hard tips at the end of her fingers, I believed it to be a nervous impulse._

_"So... what's your name?"_

_That one, simple question caught me off guard._

_{It is not necessary for you to know.} I answered. Be strong, be firm._

_"My name is Sydnee." She smiled at me. She looked so... sad._

_I tried to focus on my work._

_"What kind of alien are you?" She asked._

_Would a controller ask that? Would a Yeerk ask that to fool me? She was confusing me. I wished she would stop talking._

_{I am an Andalite.} I sighed. It couldn't do any harm to tell her. {...My name is Floran-Jakhal-Castouss.}_

_She laughed, a very pleasant sound. "That's a mouthful."_

_I forced a blank face. {You may call me Floran.}_

_"Thank you."_

_This human was strange. I had no idea what to make of her. Where all humans this way?_

_As the hours went on I could see her becoming more and more restless. Because of Kandrona starvation?_

_I heard her stomach growling. Apparently she was hungry..._

_I looked over to her._

_"I'm sorry."_

_I'm holding her prisoner, and she is the one who apologizes?_

_I thought it over... then left to find a hose.{I am going to restrain you.} She pulled back in fear. {I will go and find you food, I cannot allow you to move freely while I am gone.} I hoped this might help to pacify her._

_After restraining her, I left the ship. I had a fairly good idea what would happen next..._

_Sure enough, not but ten human minutes later, the door opened. The human stumbled out and ran. Perhaps she would lead me to the Yeerk Pool._

_I followed close behind. It was clear to me she was not used to the woods. She plowed her way through without much thought. She dropped her outer artificial skin..._

_If I were to follow her, I would need to follow in morph._

_I had acquired her in her sleep. I was collecting human samples for a Frolis Manuever..._

_I morphed her and slipped on the artificial clothing._

_She led me to a smaller section of the colony. Several houses lined together where human's live in close proximity to one another._

_I saw her stop suddenly. She froze dead in her tracks at a group of people leaving one of the hollow human scoop. She looked around widely. These people scared her._

_I ran up to her, grabbing her and pulling her down, covering her mouth to keep her silent. Be quiet!_

_I looked out to the group of people. {Who are they?}_

_"Controllers. The tall guy, with the white hair, that's their boss."_

_{A Visser!}_

_She did not answer. The Controllers climbed in a metal transport and drove away._

_I looked to the human. She stared longingly at the hollow home, but the danger was now too great. She could not go back._

_{Follow me.}_

_She did._

_I took careful steps, trying not to hurt my human feet._

_{That was foolish.} I regretted the words the moment I thought them._

_"RAAAH!"_

_She tackled me from behind! I hit the ground, the skin on my hands and knees were stinging from the impact of my body skidding across the black earth._

_I tried to push myself up, but the human was on top of me! She closed her hands into fists and hit me! My face, my stomach, she hit with surprisingly hard blows._

_"It's your fault! It's YOUR fault! I could have saved them! I COULD HAVE SAVED THEM! They're gone! They're gone and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" Slowly, the blows stopped and she cried. "What do I do now? I can't go home, they know my face. I can't go anywhere. There's nothing I can do."_

_What could I do? I didn't blame myself for what happened... I only did what I'd thought I'd needed to... can I really be blamed for being cautious, right?_

_But she was right about one thing. There was no where she could go. I knew it was coming... I knew..._

_What do I do now?_

_I'm just one person. A failed soldier. A coward. The Yeerks know we're here. They didn't find my ship, so we'd be safe for now. Their forces in this town seemed to be fairly small, but who's to say they won't find someway to track my ship? What could I possibly to to protect her? Let alone myself?_

_That's when the idea occurred to me._

_But it was treason! If I did it there was go going back..._

_I was already likely to spend the rest of my life in prison for running away from battle. But this..._

_If I did this, it could possibly double my chances of survival. If I didn't, she would become a hinderance... "We have a common enemy. You can tell me what you know about the Yeerks and their operations as well as help me understand this planet's culture... if you do that..." I hoped this was not a mistake... "I will give you a way to defend yourself."_

_I have no reason to be dishonest._

_I betrayed the Law of Seerow's Kindness and gave the human Sydnee the power to morph._

_She was scared, I think, but she was very brave._

_It did not take us long to confirm that her parents were, indeed, taken as controllers._

_She reacted positively... She focused of practicing the morphing ability, rather then wallowing in self pity. At least that is what I thought._

_She asked my many questions... most of which I avoided answering._

_"So what all can I acquire with this stuff?"_

_By 'this stuff' I assumed she meant morphing. {The morphing ability will allow you to take the DNA of any living species.}_

_She nodded. "Okay I- Wait, 'living'? You mean I can't acquire DNA from, like, a dinosaur or something?"_

_{A... dinosaur?}_

_"They're extinct." She explained._

_{Then, no.} I confirmed._

_She frowned, the corners of her mouth turning down. "That sucks."_

_Humans are sometimes hard to understand. I later realized the term 'sucks' is a human saying showing contempt for a situation. {I... suppose.}_

_She looked around the woods, then reached out, grabbing something in her hands then bringing it over to me. "Could I morph into this?"_

_She opened her hands, and in her hands sat a small insect. It's lower abdomen glowed slightly. There were several of them out during this time of the day, almost night. {Yes, you could.}_

_"That's incredible... I mean... it's so small..."_

_I began to explain to her the science behind the morphing ability. About Z-Space and how mass is either pulled from or deposited into Z-Space depending on the size of the morph- ….but it was obvious she did not grasp the concepts._

_"So, pretty much anything is fair game as long as it's alive?"_

_I thought it over. {Yes.}_

_"Could I acquire you?"_

_I took a step back. {What?}_

_She cocked her head to the side. "You acquired me. Could I acquire you?"_

_{You... you could...}_

_She frowned again, her eyes narrowing. "But you wouldn't let me."_

_{Well... I...} The idea of her acquiring me... I admit, made me feel uncomfortable._

_"Oh. I see how it is." She turned her back towards me. "It's A-Okay for YOU to acquire me, the lesser species, but not okay for me to acquire you. Because you're a super duper Andalite."_

_{That is not how I meant it...}_

_"Yeah, it was."_

_Sydnee is very direct. She was always able to know what I was thinking... it was very disconcerting in the beginning._

_{No it wasn't!} I insisted. {You... you can acquire me if you think it is necessary...}_

_She stared at me for several seconds. "Really?"_

_{Yes.} I lied._

_"You're sure?"_

_{..Yes...}_

_She took a step towards me then reached out and grabbed my hand. I flinched. For a moment, she held my hand... then simply dropped it. Without acquiring me._

_{What?}_

_"I don't need to acquire you. I'd just make me a moving target for Yeerks." She smiled. "Though I do appreciate you can trust me enough to let me do it."_

_{I... it is important for us to trust one another.} I confirmed, a little relieved._

_She nodded, but the smiled faded and she stared at me with that same serious, contemplative look. "Yeah. Sure..."_


	33. Chapter 33

It was hard reading through Floran's story. At the same time, it was also enlightening. But as I read on, the pain only grew more. And soon, I found the pages I was dreading...

The day of the mission.

_I felt a certain emptiness..._

_Soon I would be home, back on my home world. I'd been longing for it for almost two human years but now the thought made me feel sick. I would survive. Only me._

_The Peace Movement would all die._

_Sydnee would die._

_We were in the back of a vehicle. A 'van'. The two of us together. I felt like I should have said something, anything. But I could think of nothing to console her, or myself._

_"We're almost there. Morph now."_

_I saw Sydnee smile, she was being brave. "See you on the other side."_

_{The other side of what?} I asked, confused._

_She laughed. "It's just an expression."_

_I began to morph into the human Vance, as Sydnee began to morph Yeerk. It wasn't the first time I'd seen this transformation, but it still sickened me to see my friend become a lowly Yeerk._

_Some of them may have been helping us... but I couldn't quell my disgust for them._

_I picked her up from the floor, feeling ill, and allowed her to enter my ear..._

_Soon my body was not my own. I was trapped. It was the worst experience of my life._

_Being a control- No! I was not a controller. Sydnee was not really a Yeerk so I was not a controller... but having a 'Yeerk'... inside you... it's a sickening experience. Even if I trusted the person inside me, the idea was foul. If the situation had not been so pressing..._

_I felt a strange tingle as her mind and my mind came into contact and I felt a wave of negative emotions. Sydnee was terrified. She was a child... never meant to fight. I was an Andalite Warrior... a coward who ran away from battle and doomed her._

_I did this to her..._

_The Yeerk named Driss parked the vehicle. "Here we are. It's showtime."_

_Sydnee took me out of the car and we followed Driss into the facility._

_{Floran?} Sydnee, calling out to me._

_{Yes? What is it?}_

_{I'm sorry, I just remembered that I never did take you back and buy you some more lemon squares.} I would have laughed, but not in joy. She was about to make the ultimate sacrifice to save my people and she was thinking about a broken promise to me?_

_{It is unfortunate. Perhaps next time.} I felt pathetic._

_{Sounds good to me.}_

_There would be no next time..._

_We entered the building easily. No one gave us any trouble. Any Bio-Filters the Yeerks had set up would be fooled by the morphing technology. It seemed we might actually make it._

_"You know..." My mouth said. "I think this plan is actually going to work!"_

_I saw Driss smirk. "What? Were you doubting my plan?"_

_Sydnee shook my head. "No. Just you."_

_He hit me, though he was not angry. It was a human thing. Human's show much through their physical interactions. Holding hand to show affection or touching a shoulder for comfort... "We're almost there. Get ready to come out and demorph."_

_We went down the drop shaft, it lasted for several minutes..._

_I would be home soon..._

_And Sydnee would be dead._

_My friend would die and I would run away once again._

_We entered the caverns below, there were no controllers in sight. I thought it curious in passing. I should have realized it sooner._

_"How about now?" Sydnee asked._

_The Yeerk looked around then nodded. "Yeah. We're almost to the teleport."_

_I felt Sydnee release my mind and leave my head. Driss placed her on the ground and she and I demorphed. We were ourselves again. For the last time._

_I saw her smile at me._

_{Well, well. If I hadn't seen it for myself... I wouldn't have believed it.}_

_The thought-speak in my head made me tremble. I shrunk back in horror and in that moment, I knew. I knew who it was. I knew he was here. I knew it was a trap. I knew we were doomed._

_The room flooded with light, followed by an army of Hork Bajir, human, and Taxxon controllers. And then, I saw him._

_Visser Three._

_He looked like any other Andalite. Alloran had once been a great War-Prince, but now he was a slave to the Yeerks. And now, we would join him in that hell._

_He turned to Sydnee._

_I wanted to get in between them. I didn't want that thing to touch her, but I was frozen in fear._

_{The rumor is true. I had never thought that any Andalite could be so pathetically desperate as to share it's great morphing technology! Especially with a child!}_

_He turned to me and I wanted to die._

_{Though... you are rather small for a Warrior aren't you? I suppose the Andalites must be truly desperate, to allow runts like you into their army!}_

_I felt the shame, the humiliation, but all I could do was tremble._

_"H-how did you know!? How did you know we were coming!?" Sydnee's voice cut through my fear. She was scared, more scared then I was. She had been a controller for months, she knew the horror of it... yet she found the strength to speak._

_His eyes burned into mine. I could see the evil in them. {We intercepted your transmission to the Andalite home world. You see, the teleport was finished ahead of schedule, the invasion was meant to start yesterday.} He took a step closer. {But after hearing your call to your sister, I decided to set a trap. A trap for the escaped, supposedly, morph-capable host and the renegade Andalite whom Sub-Visser 19 failed to capture.}_

_{No...!} Lanam! Was she...? {What have you done to my sister!?} I cried out, finally finding my voice._

_He sneered. {I have no idea what our allies may have done to her. Perhaps she'll be there to see the beginning of the destruction of the Andalite forces.}_

_"It's not over!" I heard Sydnee scream._

_He laughed at her. {Oh, but it is, little human. It's OVER.} He turned to his guards. {Take them. Bring the human, bring the Andalite, and the traitor. Bring them with us. To bear witness to the greatest victory of the Yeerk Empire!}_

_We were taken, forced to follow behind the Visser._

_Sydnee was wrong. It was over._

_The Andalites would be killed or enslaved, our forces would be overwhelmed and annihilated. Nothing would stop the Yeerks from spreading all over the galaxy._

_We had failed. I had failed._

_It was..._

_That's when I saw him. A Hork Bajir._

_He walked carefully away from the crowd, taking a place in the back._

_I recognized him._

_It was the Hork Bajir Kan Hashut. His Yeerk was one of the Peace Movement! I scanned the crowd and saw several of them, Hork Bajir and human controllers, they moved with care, with purpose. They surrounded the Visser's small army. They were waiting for the chance to strike!_

_This was not part of the plan... but they were adapting to it._

_Sydnee was right! It was not over!_

_We were taken to the portal. The Visser was ecstatic, the arrogant monster didn't see the danger! He had no idea! I looked for Sydnee, but her tiny form was lost in a sea of controllers._

_{I've waited years for this!} His voice held a strange longing in it. {Start the machine!}_

_The scientists began the operating process._

_I saw Sydnee pull out. She ripped herself away from the controllers and towards the Visser, the portal. "NO!"_

_My breath caught in my throat as the Visser's tail-blade pressed against her throat. {Don't move.} He ordered. {It would be a shame for me to have to damage such a... 'unique' host.}_

_I heard the mocking contempt in his voice as he threatened her, it made me sick._

_"You can't do this!" Her voice was barely audible._

_{I already have.} He turned his back to her, looking back at the teleport. {Keep hold of her. If you allow another outburst like that and I will kill the both of you.}_

_I saw her taken again, held in place._

_I also saw the members of the Yeerk Peace movement, they had been waiting... waiting to open fire with their Dracon beams._

_As the machine began to charge, they opened fire!_

_TSSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW! TSEEEW!_

_Several of the Visser's troops were down! The sudden attack had given them an edge!_

_I charged into battle. I struck with my tail._

_The controllers fired on one another, the Taxxons devoured the dead from both sides, I saw the Visser he cut down all who stood in his way._

_"Andalite!" I almost killed the Hork Bajir, but managed to stop myself. It was Kan._

_"Where's Sydnee!?" He asked, his voice was panicked._

_There was so much fighting... Was she?_

_RRWWWOOOWWWRR!_

_I saw it, a blur of golden fur and claws. A cougar. Sydnee._

_"Get ready Andalite!" Kan's Yeerk ordered. "The portal is almost ready! Be ready to go, and be ready for a fight on the other side!"_

_That's when I saw the Visser. He was going after Sydnee! She didn't see him coming!_

_Before I could react, Kan Hashut ran passed me. He ran at the Visser, his blades drawn._

_{What are you doing!?}_

_But he did not listen, he charged and sliced at the Visser with his hosts blades._

_I saw the Visser's tail, deadly and quick. It sliced the Hork Bajir, almost in half. It fell._

_{NO!}_

_Sydnee could see the Visser now. She leaped, digging her claws into his flesh. He hit her several times, knocking her away, then cutting her._

_"The Portal!"_

_I saw the Yeerk named Driss, he was holding a Dracon Beam, he shot the last living doctor. He aimed it for the portal, ready to destroy it, but first he looked to me... the portal was ready. It was time to go..._

_{I'LL KILL YOU!} Sydnee's mind screamed, the Cougar roared._

_I decided to do it then. It only took a second to decide. But I knew that moment that I could not run. Not this time._

_{No.} The Visser went for the killing blow._

_SWOOP!_

_My blade and his collided. I blocked, he stepped away, and I stood between them. The abomination, the Visser, and the human in cougar morph, my friend._

_{You're right. She is not your opponent. I am.} I felt calm. There was still fear, but I felt calm..._

_I knew what I was doing. I was not a fool. I knew this fight with the Visser meant death. But I was ready, at long last... I was ready to die like a soldier._

_The Visser laughed loudly, mockingly. {You wish to tail-fight against me? It's been many years since I've fought an Andalite is such close combat, though I doubt you will be much of a challenge.}_

_His blade shot forward, I blocked. I could not think, I could only react, to let my instincts take hold._

_I lunged to hit him, he blocked, the Visser retaliated with three quick strikes! I couldn't completely stop them. I was bleeding._

_I saw his tail shoot up then down! I went to block! But as I did, it suddenly changed it's course it was going for my neck! I couldn't block in time!_

_{NO!}_

_The Visser's stolen eyes grinned at me darkly, but then he twitched. I saw a twitch._

_The Vissers tail hit me... but not my throat, my chest. He'd missed._

_I saw the shock on his face, he hadn't expected that._

_He didn't expect this either._

_I went forward. Striking quickly, wildly. He could not attack, all he could do was block my blows. I was pushing him back._

_I, a coward, a traitor, who only made the rank of Warrior our of necessity pushed the Visser back!_

_{Sydnee.} I called out to her, in private thought-speak._

_{Floran!?}_

_It was difficult to keep focus, but I managed to stay on the Visser. {Go.}_

_{Wh-what!?}_

_{Go through the portal. I cannot run from this fight. If I tried the Visser would strike me down. You must go through the portal.}_

_I saw her with my stalk-eye. I saw her push herself off the floor. {What? No! I can't leave you behind!}_

_From beyond the Visser, I saw more men. More controllers, soon we would be overpowered._

_{The scientists are dead.} I told her. {As soon as you are through, Driss will destroy the gate.}_

_{Floran!} The sorrow in her voice... No this was the right thing to do._

_{Please Sydnee. Go. I don't know what forces will be waiting for you on the other side, but please. Go. Save my people.} Save yourself... I'm a soldier, it's my duty, my honor, to die. To save you._

_I saw her turn, I saw her run towards the portal._

_{STOP!} The Visser screamed. {STOP HER YOU FOOLS!}_

_She leaped._

_{Thank you, my friend.}_

_The room was blanketed with a green glow, a flash. Waves of energy pulsed around us._

_She was gone._

_{NOW!} I ordered._

_Driss opened fire. The other, still living, members of the Yeerk Peace movement opened fire._

_In seconds, there was nothing left of the machine but melted, sparking scraps metal._

_I backed away. {It's over.} I told him._

_I could see the fury, he was literally trembling with the hatred. {You will suffer for this Andalite.} He whispered. {I will make you PAY.}_

_He began to morph._

_So did I._

_I saw the last surviving members of the Yeerk Peace Movement retreat, I saw Driss with them._

_The Visser began to grow, I began to shrink._

_The Visser became a creature I had never seen before. It would have towered over me in my own Andalite body, but now... It's enormous body filled the room, blocked the exit. It's arms were long, one of it's hands could have taken hold of my Andalite body with ease. It's sharp teeth snapped and a shrill shriek erupted from it's throat._

_I focused on my morph. In seconds, the two of us were finished. The Visser's monstrous new morph looked down at me with three sets of piercing yellow eyes._

_He laughed, the monster heaving and hissing along with him. {Are you serious? THAT is the form you choose to die in Andalite?}_

_The Visser raised his morphed bodies large hand and brought it down on me. It slammed my body into the steel floor with such force that it would have broken my Andalite bones, burst open my organs, and crushed the life from it. It would have... had I still been an Andalite._

_Either his host Alloran had never cared much about the animals of his home planet, or the Visser never cared to learn from him. Either way, he didn't know._

_Garba lizards are a very resilient species._

_It hurt, I wasn't sure this body could survive another hit like that. But I lived. He lifted his hand and I darted out. The Garba lizards natural camouflage protecting me from his sight._

_{What?}_

_I kept one eye forward, where I ran. The other I turned back to look behind me._

_The Visser's bulbous head jerked from side to side. It was searching for me._

_{You can't escape!} He screamed. {You'll die here Andalite!}_

_Yes, probably. But that did not mean that I would make it easy for him._

_I heard his monstrous morph stomping and screeching. It was ripping the room apart looking for me... but I had already escaped._

_I ran down the halls, out into the cavern we had just entered from._

_Some of the members of the Yeerk Peace Movement were running, trying to escape to the drop shafts... they were surrounded, overpowered._

_I thought of leaving them to their fates. They were Yeerks..._

_No. They risked their lives to help us. Without them, the Andalites would have been destroyed. I owed them the same._

_I moved out of sight and demorphed, then charged into battle._

_A Taxxon controller was on a human controller, with one swig I sliced it open. It's insides spilled over the floor. The human was injured, but still alive. He picked up his Dracon Beam._

_{Keep guard over the drop shafts.} I ordered. {I will cover your escape.}_

_I was pleased with the look of shock on the controllers face._

_I managed to save a few other members of the Yeerk Peace movement. They ran into the shaft and shot up. If they survived what was up there I could not know, that was up to them. But at least they had escaped here._

_One last living member ran to the shaft, Hork Bajir close behind him. I made one, quick slice, blinding it. Driss stumbled, gasping for breath, his host was badly injured. The Controller with the shredder took hold of him heading for the shaft._

_"Good luck... Andalite..." Driss managed to say before launching upward._

_I hoped some of them would make it._

_{ENOUGH!}_

_The Visser._

_He had demorphed. Probably after realizing I had run off. I almost laughed at the idea._

_{Surrender Andalite.} His still living forces reorganized. I was surrounded. One move and I would be dead. {Surrender and I may let you live.}_

_I laughed out loud. {And live as a controller? No. Never.}_

_He smiled. He had been hoping I would say that. {Then die.}_

_I raised my tail high above my head and charged at the Visser! His troops opened fire-_

_And then there was nothing. Nothing at all._

_There was no pain or fear, not even blackness. Just nothing._

**WELL DONE ANDALITE**

_He came to me... I do not know who he was. I know who he said he was... but I've never been one to believe in fairy tails. And yet here I am... where ever here is, speaking my last words to no one in the chance someone somewhere may hear them._

_I am dead, or perhaps on the verge of death._

_It is a good death, I think, an honorable death. It may have not been the death I wanted, but it was good and I die with few regrets._

_I regret not knowing how the war will end. I regret not knowing the fate of my sister Lanam. But I have faith. I have faith that the Yeerks will be stopped. Faith that my sister will live._

_And Sydnee... I have faith that she is still alive, that she managed to face whatever was on the other side of that portal. I have faith in Sydnee._

_I saved Sydnee... I saved my people... I did that._

_The clumsy Aristh who couldn't tail-fight to save his life, the reluctant Warrior who ran from battle..._

_But I did it._

_I did it._

The words stopped. There were no more pages.


	34. Chapter 34

Z-Space had shifted. We would be arriving on Earth sooner then expected. In a few hours, the ship would be landing.

I should have been happy and I was, I guess...

But not really...

What would I find when I got back? Part of me had been too scared to ever hope that I'd ever make it back home at all... Could I really go back to the life I had? Would there be any of it left waiting for me? Could I ever forget all that happened...?

I was sitting against a tree, my knees to my chest. I should have felt excited. I should have felt something... but there wasn't anything. I just felt numb.

It had been a few weeks since I'd read Floran's Hirac Delest... I cried a lot, but now I was just tired. I guessed I was too tired to feel angry or sad. Just numb and empty.

I heard him coming, but I didn't react until he spoke.

{We have been in contact with your country's government. We have explained the situation and we'll be returning you to their care.}

I smiled a little. "Explained the situation? All of it? Or just the cliff notes."

{Everything.} Sir confirmed. {Though they have agreed to keep it a secret out of respect for the Electorate's wishes.}

I laughed and shook my head. "I... I can't believe it's all over..." My voice gave out. I whispered. "I can't..." Tears, I guess I still had some to spare... I rubbed them away, laughing angrily. "All I ever do is cry!"

{It's a natural human function, is it not?} Sir asked.

"Only for wimps." I spat. "Only for weak little girls."

{You're being too hard on yourself.}

"Maybe... but it's true."

{He would be happy for you.}

"If he wasn't dead."

{He wouldn't want you to wallow in misery.} He told me, but I just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, sure, but he's dead. He can't want anything anymore..."

I looked down towards the stream that ran-

THWAK!

I was on the ground, staring up into space past the see through dome. My head stung, a little. I looked at Sir.

He'd HIT me!

It hadn't hurt, he'd hit me with the flat part of his blade. All things considered it was barely a tap. But he'd HIT me!

"What the hell was THAT for!?" I screamed.

{Stand up.}

"You hit me!"

THWAK!

"OW!"

{And now I have hit you twice.} He stated flatly. {Now stand.}

I stood, still totally shocked. "You hit me."

{You have a habit of repeating the obvious.} He replied flatly.

"Okay... _why_ did you hit me?"

{It seemed that reason was not effective on you. Therefore I took a more drastic course of action.} His expression softened and he placed his hand on my shoulder. {There is no shame in mourning. But it is a betrayal to him to blame yourself, when you are not at fault.}

My face was hot, tears stung my eyes. "...I miss him..."

Sir nodded (With his stalks not his head). {We all will.}

I sighed. He was right, it wasn't just me who missed him...

Sir and Lanam, Flo's parents... he was gone from their lives too...

Sir turned from me. {We're here.}

I turned just in time to see it. The Earth. The tiny little blue planet, my whole world. As we came closer, I could see the clouds, I could see the brown and green continents. With every second we came closer. Soon we hit the atmosphere. We descended down, the ship glided over the ocean.

I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath. The next moments went by so quickly, by the time I had time to grasp that I was almost there, we had landed.

{It's time to go.}

I looked to Sir, my heart pounding, then nodded.

"Thank you." I blurted out. "Th-Thank you for everything..."

As I followed him out of the ship, he turned to me and smiled. {Thank you.}

I stepped out into the sunlight. A parking lot. Our ship was landed in a regular old parking lot. I saw several men in uniforms and some Andalites talking. My feet touched the hard, rough pavement. The heat almost burned my feet. One of the men stopped, then pointed to me.

"This is the one?"

{Yes.}

The soldier saluted the Andalite then motioned for me to follow. "Sydnee Roivas? We've been briefed on your situation. If you'll follow me, we've got someone here to take you home."

I followed after the soldier, and turned to wave at the other Andalites. They didn't get the concept, because Andalites don't use their hands for almost anything, only Sir waved back.

I followed the soldier to the other side of the parking lot-

"Sydnee?"

I stopped.

That voice!

My mother and my father.

They stood together, by some guy in a suit.

For a second, I was scared... what if it wasn't really them? What if it was some kind of set-up? A trap?

Then I saw their faces. Tears. I hadn't seen my mom cry since my grandfathers funeral. It was the first time I ever saw my dad cry...

Everything else vanished in that instant. All that mattered was my parents.

While we were hugging and kissing and crying, I barely noticed the Andalite ship take off. I looked up just in time to see it vanish into the pale blue sky.

"I'm sorry Sydnee..." I heard my dad say.

I stopped and looked at my parents tear stained faces. "Y-you're sorry?"

My dad tried to speak, but his words were choked by sobs.

"You were suffering all that time, and we didn't even notice..." My mom said, pulling me close to her again.

Suffering?

"Wait... you mean... when I was a controller?" I almost laughed. "You couldn't have known! Of course you couldn't have! And if you had figured it out...you... you would have been made controllers sooner..." I shook my head. "I'm the one who should be sorry... you were taken because of me! And I didn't save you!"

My dad hugged us both. "No! Of course it's not your fault!"

"We're all safe now. We're together, you're home, you're safe." My mom whispered.

"Excuse me?" The man in the suit walked up to us. "I'll be happy to take you all home."

My mom and dad nodded and we all stepped into the backseat of the car. Dad on one side, mom on the other, me in the middle. They never let go of my hands all the way home.


	35. Chapter 35

Our house was still standing, but there were a lot of bad memories there, so we moved.

The world was a very different place now. Everybody knew about aliens. There were a few crack pots who denied their existence, but they were the same weirdos who still didn't believe humans had landed on the moon, so what can you do?

I learned about the Animorphs then.

Five kids; Jake, Marco, Rachel, Cassie, and Tobias. They stumbled onto an alien who warned them of the invasion and gave them the power to morph. These kids, along with an Andalite Aristh names Aximili, fought a silent war for three years, doing whatever they could to hold back the invasion while keeping their identities a secret. They called themselves the Animorphs.

One of them became an nothlit... one of them died...

It shocked me. It really did... seeing this kid Marco on T.V. He was only a few years younger then me. Hearing all about their adventures...

Speaking of adventures, I had to tell my parents what had happened to me several times.

We've been doing a lot of stuff together, me and my parents. They're trying really hard to make it up to me... even though they really don't have to. We try to eat together almost every night and we go out to eat together every Friday, and on Saturday we stay in and do something together. Usually watch a movie... we'd play board games or something stupid like that sometimes, but none of us were ever very good at that sort of thing.

But they're trying.

And so am I.

For a long time after I got back, I didn't feel like doing anything. I slept, I ate, and I slept some more...

But eventually I had to go back to school...

Ever heard the expression 'The more things change, the more they stay the same?'

It's truer then you'd think.

Sitting in class, listening to the teacher, studying. It was all just like before...

Only I wasn't.

I have nightmares sometimes... but most of the time I don't remember what they were about. I never told my parents about them, they'd just worry.

The world was a very different place now. Andalites come by and visit and go crazy over food. I've been in touch with Sir and Lanam, and they've promised to come some time and visit in the future. There's a huge Hork Bajir colony in Yellowstone park. And science has made huge leaps over the past few years. Soon we'll be sending our own people out into space.

That leaves me... I was almost out of school. Almost eighteen.

What was I going to do with my life?

I wasn't sure yet...

One day, while studying for some test, I noticed a car. I thought it was my parents coming home from work... but it wasn't. It parked in the street, not the driveway, and our from it stepped a tall man with dark hair. He just stood there by his car and stared up at my house. He saw me looking at him... them smiled and waved...

I dropped my pen and ran for the door, almost knocking over my desk, I ran down the stairs out to the front lawn... and up to him.

"Eli!?"

Eli Blake. The cop who saved me at the hospital. The host of Driss 757.

It was him. Alive!

"I'm glad to see you too, kid. I'm sorry we didn't come sooner."

I gasped for breath. "W-we?"

Someone else stepped out of the car... Rubin and Georgia Vance.

"You're alive!?"

They just smiled.

I looked at Eli, then Rubin...

"What... what happened to Inix? And Driss?" I asked.

Eli sighed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's... one of the reasons we came to you."

Rubin indicated to himself. "I am Inix."

"You're... you're still using Mr. Vance as a host?"

He shook his head, then lifted a black bag from the car and handed it to me. I unzipped it. Inside was a small cube. It was bright blue.

"We found it in the woods. It must have not been destroyed with your ship. Luckily, one of US found it." Rubin... Inix explained.

"You..." I stammered. "You morphed Rubin Vance?"

He nodded.

"What... what happened to the REAL Vance?"

Inix had a very small, controlled smile. "Do you really want to know?"

I swallowed, then shook my head. "Wh-what about Driss?"

Eli smiled. "He couldn't make it."

"Did he morph you?" I asked him.

"I offered it to him, but he never did like humans. He's living with the Hork Bajir now."

I was stunned. "Why... why bring this to me?"

The smile faded from Eli's face. "...it belonged to the Andalite... I thought it would be best for you to have it... He- ...he died saving us..."

I nodded. "I know."

He looked surprised by that, but he didn't ask what I meant.

"Do, do you want to come in?" I asked.

"Sorry, can't. My wife's already mad enough I went on some secret trip without telling her." Eli admitted sheepishly. "But I'll stop by some time soon, alright?"

I nodded. "Sure." We shook hands and Eli got in the car, in the driver's seat. I turned to Inix and Georgia. "You too?"

"Yeah, we can't visit right now." Georgia admitted. "But we'll hang out soon, okay?"

I smiled at them. "Yeah. Sounds good..."

They got in their car and drove away...

I went back in my house, then upstairs to my room.

I took the Escafil device out from the bag, holding it in my hands... then I put it on my desk.

I heard the door downstairs open and close, then went downstairs.

"Hi dad."

He smiled. "Hi Sydnee. Your mom's gonna be home soon, how's pizza sound for dinner tonight?"

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"Sydnee...? Are you okay?"

Maybe not. "Yeah, I'm fine." But I will be, someday...

My dad picked up the phone. "What do you want on it?"

"Everything."

He laughed. "Everything?"

I nodded. "Everything."

"Even mushrooms?"

I grinned. "Especially mushrooms."


	36. Epilogue

I never knew how difficult cooking was. Before the invasion the most I ever did was boil some easy make macaroni.

I took a bite of the casserole... it was disgusting.

My husband, Robert, wasn't home yet. He was a much better cook then I was. But he'd gotten overtime at the office. My daughter, Sydnee, sat on the couch reading.

My name is May Roivas. You wouldn't know my name, or anything about me or my family... but my little girl helped save the world. Not that anyone knows it. It burns me up sometimes... but Sydnee doesn't seem to mind...

She's not like those kids that stopped the invasion, I'll admit, she didn't do quite as much as them and god bless their hearts for what they did... and they deserve every single luxury and happiness... but still...

She's changed a lot... at least I think she has. But it's not something you'd notice very easily. She's more mature now, that's for sure, but also more... open? And a little world weary... At least I think so... It's funny how it took an alien invasion and getting a slug in my head to realize I barely knew my daughter at all...

But I try not to think about back then...

She didn't experience enough to seriously screw her up... I've heard stories about some of those other kids and I thank god that didn't happen to my Sydnee. But she did fight, she did see people die... she did kill... and of course that changes a person.

But she's still my daughter. She's still my Sydnee.

She just graduated high school, we still haven't picked a college yet. I still wasn't sure if Sydnee even knew what she wanted to do. But this government guy ensured us that Sydnee's college expenses would be covered so she could literally go anywhere...

I guess saving the world did have some upsides for her.

"What are you reading?" I asked her.

She didn't look up. "A book."

I rolled my eyes. "Well that sure answers my question."

She didn't say anything for a while, I almost thought she hadn't heard me.

"Hey, mom, did you know only 100 people are chosen to go into the space program every two years?"

I dropped the spoon. "What?"

"Well, I guess that number might go up now, all things considered."

"Oh- yes, yes I, but I- that- what?"

She finally looked up from her book and smiled at me.

I stared at her, disbelieving. She couldn't be serious! "But, you just got back!" Tecnically she'd been how for a few years now, but still!

She shrugged. "It's a big world out there mom. In fact, the whole universe just got a lot bigger for the human race." She laughed and gave me a wink. "Someone's got to go out there and explore it for mankind, right?"

"Sydnee... haven't you had enough of spaceships and aliens?" I asked hopefully.

She shook her head lifted her hand in that Star Trek thing. "You know me mom. I love me some aliens."

All I could do was stare as she jumped off the couch, walked over to me, and picked up the spoon. She took a bite of the casserole I was making.

"Not bad, mom! Much better then grass."

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTES**

Wow! Look at that! I actually finished this story!

Yep, that's the end. So, Sydnee becomes an astronaut and apparently eating liquified grass for over a year destroyed her taste buds.

Anyway, if you've stuck with the story this far I want to say, thank you! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please review! If you think it could have been better, leave a review! Constructive criticism is always helpful.

I may go back and rewrite a few chapters, at one point I thought I was loosing interest in the story and rushed through a few chapters out of fear I may stop writing. I also may add a few prequel-like stories featuring some members of the Yeerk Peace movement but... we'll see.

Besides that, though, the story's over.

I really had fun with this, even though it's not a perfect story and there are probably more then one continuity flubs in comparison to the books... but hey, it's fan fiction, right?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go work on my other Animorphs fan fiction 'The Abomination' where we follow Alloran-Semitur-Corrass during his years being host to Esplin 9466, the future Visser Three... (PLUG PLUG)

Anyway, thanks for reading! If you reviewed it, thanks for reviewing! And if you faved this story...

I love you.

When I grow up, will you marry me? ;)


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